Punk to Princess
by PeeblesPls
Summary: AU. Uchiha Itachi, private detective, is assigned with the task of taking a street girl like Haruno Sakura and morphing her into a high class lady. Too bad he's insufferable and she's unreasonable. ItachiSakura. R&R please!
1. Chapter 1

Ah, Konoha. The quaint city hidden within the leaves. Such a nice place. So quiet and serene. It was the perfect location for anyone who wished to enjoy their life and live it peacefully. Yes, the epitome of a great society filled with even greater people. Not one flaw could be found within the walls of the city.

"Get back here you thieving gaki!" okay, so that was a bit of an exaggeration. A burly looking man sneered as he bounded down the crowded sidewalk just outside of his humble establishment, chasing after the 'gaki.' Said brat merely laughed at her pursuer as she dipped and dodge people walking to and fro.

"You'll never catch me, ji-chan!" she stuck out her tongue in a mocking fashion only to see him turn beet red at her words. Laughing more, she failed to notice where she was going and ran right into the something tall and hard. Very hard. The girl stumbled backwards and landed flat on her back. Had the sun not been in the perfect position to obscure her vision, she would've seen who caused her to fall.

Just as she was about to pick herself up, a strong hand clamped around her forearm and forcefully pulled her up from the pavement. She winced and struggled to get out of his vice grip. She was surprised to see that the old man had actually caught up with her and that he was stronger than he looked. He smirked evilly at her as he tugged her toward him.

"Thought I wouldn't catch you, eh? Think again little girl. Now give me back the things you stole!" he shouted at her. She cringed as a deep frown settled on her features.

"Not on your life old man! Now let me go!" she shouted back, purposely spitting in his face. He growled and pushed her to the ground, effectively bruising some parts of her body. He advanced on her, grabbed her by the scuff of her shirt.

"You're gonna regret that, bitch!" he sneered. The girl glared evilly at him, clenching her fist tightly at her side.

"Oh yeah?" she taunted, ready to fight him if necessary. Both failed to notice the tall figure standing amongst them, watching the scene unfold, until he chose to intervene.

"If I may interrupt," the man called, in a deep commanding voice. Immediately the two stopped what they were doing. The old man released his grip on the girl none too gently as he stared at the other man in awe. The girl merely regarded him with an uninterested glance.

"Oh! U-uchiha-sama. Please do." He bowed and backed away. The girl seemed to catch on to what the old man was so nervous about and scooted away from Uchiha-sama as he approached her silently.

"I take it this isn't the first time you've had to chase her down." The man stated as he gently picked the girl up, also by her forearm and held her at his side.

"Yes sir, that's correct." He replied while sending a death glare to the girl. She sent one right back before huffing and choosing to look elsewhere.

"I see. This should cover the stolen merchandise. Don't hesitate to call if this happens again." The man then handed the shopkeeper a large sum of cash before dragging to girl away by her arm.

"It better not happen again!" he shouted after them.

"Fuck you old man!" she girl shouted back. She momentarily forgot about the man dragging her until she was forcefully pulled into an alley and pushed face first into a brick wall. She cringed at the pain now pulsing in her head as she tried to get a good look at her aggressor.

"What's a girl like you doing stealing?" he asked. She narrowed her eyes at the man.

"What's it to you?" he stared at her with indifference as she squirmed within his grip. She was pretty, to say the least. Dressed in average street clothes with the occasional dirt spot here and there. The thing that stood out to him the most, though, were her piercing green and eyes and long pink hair.

"I have the authority to throw you in jail." He said.

"I'm only seventeen." She replied. His eyes widened a fraction at that. She seemed to be much older, but her childish attitude was a dead give away.

"Juvenile detention, then." Was his retort. He earned a bitter laugh from her.

"Wouldn't be the first time." He sighed and released her but kept her trapped in the alley with him.

"You should be in school." He said. She frowned at him. He was tall. Yes, much taller than her by nearly a foot. His face was pale and he had long, dark haired pulled into a low ponytail. His eyes were pure black.

"And you should mind you own business. Who are you, my mother?" she asked, angry at him all of the sudden.

"Based on your actions, I'd say you need one." She cringed at that then preceded to send him a dark glance.

"You don't know anything about me." Came her instant reply. She pushed him away and made a move to leave the alley until he grabbed her by the wrist, stopping her. "What?"

"I'm willing to look passed the fact that you are ditching school and committing crimes if you comply to one task." He offered. She stared up at his dark eyes in confusion.

"Oh yeah, and what makes you think I'll agree?" she asked, still trying to snatch her hand out of his.

"It's an offer you cannot refuse. You'll receive a large amount of money, more than you would be able to steal in a year." Her eyes widened at that. He released his hold on her as she backed away and cradled her surprisingly unhurt wrist.

"And if I refuse?" she asked.

"You will be indefinitely thrown in jail, despite you being a minor." Her eyes widened.

"You're blackmailing me? How can you-"

"You have a choice. Either agree, or be sent to jail with an unknown sentence waving over your head. Decide now." His voice was intimidating but she didn't back down.

"Now? But I-" he began to reach behind him and pulled out shiny, silver handcuffs, something she was familiar with. Still, the thought of those accursed things clasped around her tiny wrists sent shivers down her spine. She bit her lip in frustration before she glared him.

"F-fine. I'll do it." She mumbled stubbornly. A ghost of a smile appeared on his features as he took confident steps towards her. She could only hear his feet hitting the pavement as she looked up at his face.

"Uchiha Itachi." He held out his hand to her. She grunted and reciprocated his action.

"Haruno Sakura, charmed I'm sure."

**A/N:** Mwahaha! New story! And it's ItaSaku because I love Itachi! So, this is a prologue and it is short, barely 1,000 words. Please tell me what you think. I'm crazy for writing this while I have other stories going on but I just can't help it. When plot bunnies start hopping around, I have to comply. The first chapter will be out soon, I promise! Please review!


	2. Chapter 2

Of all the rotten luck, was the first statement that came into Sakura's mind as Itachi guided her to a sleek black car parked on the side of the street. On the side door was a red and white uchiwa fan printed cleanly with _Konoha Police Force_ written below it. She gulped, suddenly aware of the severity of her situation. So, he wasn't bluffing after all huh?

Still, it was one heck of a predicament she had gotten herself into. He eyed her curiously as he opened the passenger side door for her like a gentleman and guided her inside before shutting the door and walking over to the driver's side. She admired the interior of the car silently before he slipped in beside her. Much like the outside, the inside was dark with gray leather seats and that oh-so-wonderful new car scent. It had an up to date stereo system equipped with OnStar and everything. She scoffed and turned to look out the tented window.

"I suppose you'd like to be informed of your task." He stated. Sakura regarded him with a cross glance before returning her gaze to the outside world as he started up the vehicle.

"Whatever made you think a crazy thing like that?" she asked, tone laced with sarcasm. He narrowed his gaze at the road ahead.

"I will ignore the snide comments for now. Should they continue, however, you will be dealt with accordingly." His tone of voice sounded a bit scary, but Sakura refused to let him in on that little fact as she snorted.

"Hmph, whatever," he frowned at her response before sighing. This was going to be a chore, he could already tell.

"The governor of the Fire County has requested protection from the police force, specifically for his daughter. Being a high class politician, his life is in danger a lot." He explained.

"Yeah well, what's that got to do with me?" she asked. He glared at her.

"Do not interrupt." She merely huffed. "In about a month's time there will be an international banquet hosted by the governor of the Wind County. Security is going to be tight, still information has been leaked out that our governor and his family is being targeted. That's where you come in." he finished.

"Okay? I'm still lost." He sighed once more.

"Underneath your seat there should be a black file labeled classified. Inside are all the major details of the tasks you are to perform." Just as he said, there was a black folder with classified written in all capitalized red letters. She opened it and read the first page.

"Are you kidding me? I'm her replacement?" she exclaimed in anger.

"That is correct." Was his reply. She growled at his indifference as she dug further into the file.

"This is bullshit! I have to replace some spoiled chick who I probably look nothing lik-" she soon happened upon a picture of a girl with peachy skin, bright green eyes and long pink hair with a simple smile on her face.

"Actually, you bear a striking resemblance to Midori-sama which is why we're having this conversation." He said.

"Che, figures. Where are we going now?" she asked as she continued reading over the file.

"The police station." He answered.

"What? But you said-"

"I'm not turning you in. You are required to have a certain set of skills in order to successfully complete the mission without being seriously injured. Therefore someone will train you in the art of combat and self-defense."

"Please, like I need someone to teach me how to fight." She rolled her eyes.

"Heh, judging by your encounter with that shop owner I'd say you need all the help you can get." She glared again.

"Y-yeah well who asked you to help anyway? I had the situation totally under control before you showed up!" she bit her lip, trying to fight off the embarrassing blush that spread across her face. He chuckled deeply as he turned down a busy street. It was silent for awhile, the two of them mulling over things to themselves. Sakura rested her head against the cold window and watched as all the different cars passed by them.

_VRRR…VRRR…VRRR_

Her hand immediately shot to her pocket where her phone was vibrating quite obnoxiously. Itachi raised a fine eyebrow at her as she fumbled with the device before placing it up to her ear.

"Hello?" she answered.

"_Sakura-chan! Where the hell are you?"_ came the boisterous voice of her blond companion who she had conveniently left on the streets after being caught by a cop. She chuckled nervously into the phone before replying.

"Ah, Naruto. See it's a really long story and-"

"_You got busted, didn't you?"_ she imagined his expression based on his tone of voice. She sweatdropped and sighed.

"Not exactly. Look, I'll call you back later when I get all the details sorted out, ok?" she offered.

"_Fine, fine. Just be careful. Bye." _With that, Sakura sighed and hung up the phone. Itachi pulled up to the station and turned the car off. He stepped out and opened Sakura's door before leading her up the steps of the station. Upon walking in, she heard several phones ringing and saw people bustling around, a few sad looking criminals here and there as well as that same red and white fan all over the place.

"Welcome back, Itachi-san." A woman with dark hair called from the front desk.

"Please inform Shisui that we will commence Operation PTP immediately. We'll meet him downstairs in an hour." He said. She nodded and picked up the phone on her desk, dialing a few numbers in the process. Sakura watched from beside him with an interested glance and followed him throughout the station until they reached a large office space.

"Take a seat." She complied with his wishes and sat down in front of his desk, taking curious looks around the space. There were various awards and achievements hung up on the walls. She assumed this office belonged to him as she sat there, tapping her fingers on her knees restlessly.

"Is there anyone you would like to inform of your absence?" he asked. Itachi had a pen in his hand and was writing down something which Sakura could not see, but his handwriting was sickeningly neat.

"It's not like anyone other than Naruto would care." She muttered. He eyed her silently as a hurt look flashed through her eyes momentarily before returning to its normally blank state.

"Naruto being a friend of yours?" he guessed. Sakura nodded. He scribbled down a couple more words before he ripped off the sheet and handed it to her. "Take this and head to the medical clinic down the hall. They will perform a quick physical and have you sent to the training facility downstairs. There you will meet a man named Shisui."

"Medical clinic down the hall, training facility downstairs, Shisui. Got it. Anything else?" she asked before standing.

"Do your best." A small smile flashed across his adult features causing Sakura to freeze, her mouth slightly agape. He smirked at her expression before returning to the paperwork on his desk. Snapping out of her reverie, Sakura blushed lightly before leaving.

"Y-yeah," she stuttered.

The medical clinic was clean, white washed and smelled like that weird soup that doctor's used. Sakura's nose scrunched up in distaste as she continued down the hall, the sound of her shoes echoing against the walls. She stopped in front of a large brown door before knocking.

"Come in," came the muffled voice of a female. Complying, Sakura twisted the knob and stepped inside. It was simple room, white walls, white countertop with a sink, brown table top with the white tissue paper like sheet sitting on top of it. Yup, there was tones of white. "Ah, you must be Haruno-san. Itachi-san called ahead."

A woman with short black hair, dressed in a white lab coat greeted Sakura with a small smile. "I'm Shizune."

"Nice to meet you." The pinkette shook the older woman's hand.

"Wow, you even sound like Midori-sama." Shizune commented in an astonished voice. "Heh, leave it to Itachi-san to find her twin. Anyway, let's get started shall we?"

Sakura grumbled under her breath at Shizune's comment before she nodded. The woman guided her to the brown cushioned tabletop where she plopped down and let her legs swing freely like a young child.

"We'll just be taking care of the basics like blood pressure, reflexes, reactions to lights, noises and other things. I'll also be taking a blood sample towards the end. Just a warning in case you have a fear of needles." She explained

"Tch, like I'd be afraid of something stupid like a needle." She rolled her. Shizune giggled as she gathered the necessary materials.

"Tell me about yourself, Haruno-san. How old are you?" she asked as she wrapped a black strip over Sakura's pale arm.

"Seventeen." Came the reply.

"Hm, you're a couple years younger than Midori-sama." Sakura was silent after hearing that. She still couldn't help her finger around the fact that she was supposed to be a stand in for the governor's daughter and get captured or something in her place. It was kind of scary.

"Does stuff like this happen all the time Shizune-san?" Sakura asked in a suddenly quite voice. Shizune gazed up at the girl with soft dark eyes. "Where someone like Itachi has to find someone like me?"

"Not usually. We often have people on the Police Force whose job is to be available for missions like this. We're taking a huge gamble using you but I trust Itachi knows what he's doing." Sakura grunted at that. Shizune smiled at her comment as she tested the reflexes in her knees.

"What's so great about him anyway?"

"You'll have to find that out for yourself." She poked the girl in the nose, causing her to blush. "Do you know what your blood type is?"

* * *

><p>Sakura sighed contently as she made her way back down the medical clinic hallway and towards the basement. Shizune had been a nice person to talk to, someone Sakura was glad to meet. She eyed the sheet the female doctor had given her silently as she trekked on. On it was her height, weight, blood type, blood pressure levels, and much more.<p>

"Heh, when's the last time I had a physical?" she commented silently. As she walked further down the hall she came upon sign that read _Training Facility_ with a set of stairs leading downwards. She gulped and descended the stairs, clenching the paper tightly in her fist, wrinkling it in the process. The closer she got, the more sounds she heard. Sounds of struggling and fighting, grunts and shouts and things of that nature.

Sakura had just walked through the threshold when a bundle of clothes hit her smack dab in the face.

"Ha! I got it right this time! You owe me fifty bucks." A masculine voice shouted in triumph. Sakura let the clothes fall to the ground with a soft thud before she looked up at her current aggressor while her left eye twitched irritably as she gaze upon two unfamiliar figures.

"No way you're getting fifty dollars out of me you idiot. Besides I think you pissed her off." Another one commented. Yes, he was right. Sakura was quite displeased with have unknown articles of clothes tossed right into her visage.

"Ah relax Obito, you old man! Let's see if she's the spitfire Itachi told us about. Yo, girl!" he shouted.

More eye twitching.

"Get those threads on pronto and meet us back in here for training." Narrowing her eyes, Sakura scrutinized them with her analytical green eyes. Two men, similar in basic appearance to Itachi. Both with short, dark hair and dark eyes. One was obviously older than the other, probably Obito. Then that meant the other was most likely Shisui. The one who threw clothes at her.

"Hmph," she grunted and snatched the clothes up from the ground before trekked back to the hallway. She heard snickering come from the room which caused her to grip the clothes tighter as she came upon a locker room. She stepped inside, shut the door behind her, and promptly slid down it. She sighed and ran a hand through her pink locks.

"How the hell did I get myself into this mess?"

* * *

><p><strong>AN: **Ok so this chapter was a little boring, I know. As the story progresses, I promise it'll get better. There'll be a bit of ItaSaku in the next chapter so stay tuned for that. Also, I'd like to thank those who subscribed to story alerts: **alichaSxS, Amawasya, Cissus, enzhe, konoha kid, Mindori Takahashi, momoko09, silver starlight serpant, XxBirdxOfxHermesxX **and **The all mighty Sakura**. Plus those who favorited: **alichaSxS, BlueMoon-Tenshi, Lady Yume Chan, **and **The Child Who Cried Blood**. Lastly, a super special thank you to my two reviewers: **alichaSxS **and **Akatsuki Sakura Uchiha**. Thanks a bundle every!

P.S.—There's a link on my profile of a sketch on how Sakura's meant to look in his story.


	3. Chapter 3

This was exactly what she needed! An opportunity to vent her anger and attack something, or someone in this case. The day had been going horrible for her and it just seemed to be getting worse what with her being picked up by a cop of all things and blackmailed into being a replacement for a mostly likely spoiled princess.

She kind of felt sorry for her victim though.

"Ouch! I didn't say anything yet!" the poor man shouted as he stumbled back from the surprise punch Sakura landed on his unfortunate face. She smirked at his obvious pain and lowered herself into a self taught defensive stance. The older man beside him laughed out loud at his pain.

"Yeah, she's a real spitfire all right!" Obito shouted as he took his leave. "Heh, good luck Shisui!"

"What a bastard, leaving me in here with a crazy-" he stopped his rant when he noticed Sakura advancing on him quite menacingly. He gulped and tried to shake off the pain in his nose before he addressed her. "That's one heck of a right hook you got there, girly. I'm Shisui and I'll be training you for your mission."

"Hmph," she straightened. Silently, she peered down at the hand he had extended towards her with a toothy grin on his face. Cocking an eyebrow she lowered her own hand to meet his. In an instant he twisted his body around, her hand still in his grasp, and proceeded to flip her over his shoulder. She landed none too gently on her back with a painful thud.

"Rule number one: Never let your guard d-umph!" he was interrupted when she reacted quickly and swiped her legs under his. He cringed and looked up with surprised eyes at the pink haired wonder that stood above him with a triumphant smirk on her face.

"What was that about letting your guard down?" she taunted. He let out a feral snarl before picking himself off the ground, albeit a few feet away from her.

"Think you're hot stuff, huh? This oughta be fun." All was silent as the two stared each other down. Sakura couldn't recall the last time she felt so excited about fighting someone. Most of her scuffles were mere confrontations with people whom she had stolen from and gotten caught by. Nothing really serious. Well, you could also count the many onesided fights she had with Naruto in which she pounded him into the earth.

"Bring it on."

* * *

><p>Itachi watched silently from behind a one view window as the two began to spar. He knew Shisui to be a bit of a sadist when training the new recruits. It was interesting to him to watch how Sakura's training would play out what with her stubborn nature and Shisui's teaching methods. So far it turned out to be quite entertaining. He smirked when, at one point, Shisui had her pinned to the ground and she promptly kicked him off and moved onto counter.<p>

"Looks like she's giving Shisui-san a run for his money." Shizune commented from beside him. He acknowledged her with a polite nod before returning to view the fight. "Here are the results from her physical exam."

"How is she?" he asked, reading over the neat file in his hands.

"As healthy as they come. Her blood work is still being looked over. We'll have those results no later than tomorrow afternoon." She explained. Shizune too watched Sakura and Shisui spar, flinching when either of them landed a painful looking punch or kick on the other. "Just where in the world did you find her, Itachi-san?"

"On the street, running from an old man whose store she had just robbed." He said, never taking his eyes off her.

"R-really? She doesn't strike me as the type who would steal." The older woman's eyes widened as she tried to picture Sakura stealing from a store and getting caught in the process.

"Aa. Looks can be deceiving." All talking ceased after that.

The two continued to spar, Shisui landing more blows than either of them cared to count while Sakura managed to get in a lucky shot every once in awhile as the fighting went on. It was easy to tell, after about ten minutes of consistent movement, who would be left standing in terms of endurance.

What Sakura lacked in stamina, she made up for in strength. But that raw power turned out to be pretty useless when she could barely lift her arm to merely slap the man. Instead, she plopped down on the floor, sweaty and bruised. Feeling mutually drained, the Uchiha joined her on the floor, panting all the while.

"You put up quite a fight there, pinky." He nudged her playfully.

"You're not too bad yourself." She replied shakily, opting not to nudge back lest she lose her balance. He sighed and fell backwards, staring up at the ceiling.

"Itachi should be in here to assess the damage pretty soon." He commented. Sakura huffed and brought her knees up to her chest, resting her head on top of them stubbornly. "Not a big fan?"

"You could say that," she chose to slightly ignore his teasing as he promptly laughed at her answer and roughly shook her shoulder.

"Haha, he didn't bust you did he?" he joked. Sakura regarded him silently, pursing her lips out like a child. "Whoa, he did? He didn't hurt you, did he? Doesn't seem like something he'd do…"

"No, of course not!" she shouted, throwing her sore arms up for emphasis. "He was the perfect gentleman. Didn't even cuff me!"

"Cuff you?" he was genuinely taken aback by that one. Sure, the girl seemed a little rough around the edges and able to fight her way through the streets. But a criminal with the caliber of being arrested? It just didn't seem right. "Well shit, Sakura! What'd you-"

"Shisui," suddenly the man of the hour strolled in, business shirt sleeves rolled up to his elbows and tie loosened significantly. Shisui acknowledged his presence and stood slowly to meet his younger cousin.

"Yo, youngin!" he greet playfully. Itachi narrowed his eyes at the man before silently gazing at Sakura. She refused to meet his gaze. No matter, he'd confront her soon.

"I trust everything went well." It was more of confirmation than a question.

"Please. Like you weren't watching from behind that mirror window thing back there." Shisui laughed and slung an arm over Itachi's shoulder. "Yeah everything went fine. She's pretty skilled on her own. Even got a cheap shot on my poor face." He frowned at that, massaging his still sore nose. Itachi snorted silently.

"You most likely deserved it." He smirked.

"Hey!"

"Ahem!" Sakura interrupted their 'family feud' with a deliberate cough as she stood awkwardly in front of the two men with an apprehensive eyebrow raised. The high collared navy t-shirt top fit slack on her body due to the previous movement and the white shorts were fighting to stay on her slim hips. The outfit looked vaguely familiar to him.

"Right. Like I was saying, you're pretty solid kid. Maybe a little iffy in some areas. But that's nothing some good ole training with Shisui won't fix." He bent done to her height and ruffled her pink locks causing her to flinch.

"I suppose you'll be taking your leave then." Another confirmation.

"Nothing gets passed you. Later guys, I've got a hot date with a doctor tonight." He grinned mischievously before leaving the training area.

Itachi turned towards the pinkette only to have her avert her gaze from him and stare down at the floor with a hard expression that hardly matched her face. He chuckled inwardly as he made a move to leave the room. She lifted her head at the sound of his shoes hitting the floor before she bit her lip and followed after him. Sitting outside the door was a black duffle bag with that recurring fan on the side. Laying on the strap was a tag that had her name printed in his neat handwriting. She picked it up slowly, fingering the material thoughtfully before a small smile broke out on her face.

While she didn't completely agree with the terms of this mission, nor the people she was, and would be, forced to work with she'd try to make the best of it. After all, Itachi had promised a reward at the end for her efforts. She had plans for that money and failure was not an option.

He ended up leading her back to the medical clinic where he promptly went to work, seeming to know the ends and outs of the room. He slid open drawers, pulled cabinets and grabbed the necessary material materials before gesturing her to take a seat on that brown cushion. She grimaced at his inclination before frowning at him.

"I don't need medical attention." She concluded. He bit back a sigh before slowly advancing on her.

"Said the bruised girl in front of me." He commented as he laid a gentle hand on her forearm, to which she cringed.

How had he done that? It wasn't even giving her pain before he put his infuriatingly soft hand on her. She glared at him with indifference before stomping towards the cushion and plopping down on it angrily.

"J-just hurry up." She cursed herself for stuttering in front of him. She cringed again with he lifted her arm, applied a generous amount of salve, before gently bandaging it as not to cut off her circulation. All the while this was happening; she refused to look at him, completely embarrassed by the situation.

But, he was so gentle just like earlier when he had her pinned against that brick wall. He could've easily banged her up a bit, or even taken advantage of her. It had been like Shisui said though, it simply didn't seem like something he would do. So she resolved to watch him silently through the corner of her eye, ignoring the blush that appeared at the feel of his touch.

"Itachi-san?" she asked, surprisingly quiet. He hummed in recognition edging her to continue. "What happens next?"

"I will take you back to my place and-"

"You're place? But-!" she made a move to protest but was silenced by his glance. He stared up at her from the wound on her knee, suddenly very close in proximity.

"You are not an official part of the Police Force, barely an adult, therefore you are my responsibility until the mission is complete. Having you stay with me is simply a formality, nothing for you to be jumpy about." He explained, his gaze falling back to the injury while she subconsciously gripped the shirt in her hands, suddenly nervous about the thought of being in his house. "I am not one to leave comrades hanging to dry, Sakura-san. The quicker you learn to trust me the better."

She grimaced at his words as he stepped away, giving her space to slide down from the cushion and onto the floor. Sakura picked up the duffle and stood silently by the door while he packed up the medical supplies. He watched her silently as she reached for the doorknob but turned her head to face him. There was something in her eyes that unnerved him for the slightest second: hesitance, fear, and a hint of compliance.

"I learned to stop trusting people a long time ago."

* * *

><p><strong>AN:** Ha! Favorite chapter so far. Don't you just love Itachi and how can make sense out of any situation? He could say two plus two equals fish and I'd totally believe him. Anyway, you got your snippet of ItaSaku, although it wasn't much. There'll be more to come though so please stick with the story. Special thanks go to **BixyLee, Amawasya, enzhe, The Woman on a Flaming Pie, Akatsuki Sakura Uchiha, violentblossom, Lolita NinjaX3, acechi-anghel, **and **Kaydreams **for subscribing to story alerts, the favorites and reviews. You guys are awesome.

Haha! I noticed this is the first time I've really acknowledged readers for doing things like that. But seeing my inbox filled up with favorites, story alerts, and reviews just makes my day. Thanks a bundle everyone. Here's a nice bonus! A peak at the next chapter!

_Punk to Princess Chapter 4_

"_I guess you have a nice house."_

"_Don't steal anything."_

"_It's about time you got home. I—are those my clothes?"_

Guess who the last one is and you'll get a special sketch of the bandage scene from this chapter!


	4. Chapter 4

It was quite dark outside by the time they left the station. Sakura was still dressed in her training clothes, duffle bag slung tightly around her person. She walked behind the silent Uchiha almost in a daze as he led them to the familiar sleek black car. He followed the gentleman routine and opened her door for her, made sure she was strapped in, and shut it before going over to the other side of the car. She crunched her nose in distaste. He was so sickeningly polite that it irked her.

She watched him with a brooding stare as he started up the vehicle and pulled onto the main street. He was mysterious yet carried himself as if he had absolutely nothing to hide. So caught up in her thoughts, she hadn't noticed the glances he had been sending her way.

For him, it was exactly the same. She was mysterious in her own right. There were so many things about her that he still had no clue about and if she were to be working with him it was necessary to discover every detail down to the last, strange, strand of pink hair. If he were not Uchiha Itachi, he wouldn't bother. But since he was, it was much too late to turn back now.

"Are you hungry?" she was snapped out of her thoughts by his question and turned to him sharply.

"I—uh yeah." She stammered, cursing herself. He hummed in agreement and turned the car into the parking lot of a small take-out restaurant. Sakura recognized the establishment and recoiled in her seat. When he came around to open the door, her seatbelt was still strapped securely and her arms were crossed over her chest, a set frown on her face. He arched a brow at her demeanor and refusal to get out.

"I take it you've been here before." He guessed. She pursed her lips and turned away.

"How perceptive of you. I'm not going in." she claimed, turning her head to look anywhere other than at him. God this woman was so much trouble! He hadn't even asked her and she already declined. It was in her nature, he realized that, but it didn't make the situation anymore easier to cope with. He sighed and crouched down to look at her. She fidgeted a little but did not change.

"Sakura-san," he started. She visibly relaxed at the sound of his voice. "I understand that you may have a shaky past that entails you to be uncooperative in some areas. However, failure to cooperate is a sign of conceding or, in this case, being afraid." Oh yeah, that got her attention.

"I'm not afraid." She turned to him with sharp emerald orbs. He smirked.

"Then prove it. Come inside." Damn it! He tricked her! He laid out the bait and she took it like a starving fish. Exhaling heavily through her nostrils, Sakura unclasped her seatbelt and stepped out of the car, refusing to look at him again.

They stepped inside the quiet restaurant with the door dinging as they walked in. Sakura bit her lip and played with the hem of the navy shirt, trying to hide beneath the high collar as footsteps came around from behind the counter. An older man with squinty eyes came into view, spotted the two of them with a superficial glance.

"Welcome! What can I-" he paused, catching that familiar head of pink hair. He grimaced and frowned deeply. "It's you. What do you want?"

"Sakura has something she wishes to say." Itachi gave her a firm, but gentle push towards the counter to which she stumbled none too gracefully forward. So he dropped the honorific, huh?

"Itachi…" She frowned and looked back at him with a pleading look. But he refused to meet her glance. Damn him! He had this planned. Slowly, she turned back to the man, who seemed to be waiting for what she had to say.

"I—I'm sorry!" she exclaimed, bowing deeply with her eyes clenched shut. "For all the trouble I've caused you and—ouch…" she winced at the feeling of something hard coming down on her head. She looked up to see the man wielding a wooden spoon in his hand with a small grin on his face.

"When someone can own up to their actions and apologize, that's enough for me. What can I get you two?" he asked as he turned back to his kitchen, beginning to prepare the food. Sakura stood up straight, surprise on her features as she turned back to look at Itachi who shrugged in response. She approached the counter and sat at one of the stools and waited for him to come up next to him.

"The usual for me and a miso for her." Itachi called as he took a seat beside her. She watched him with a silent gaze as he rested his elbows atop the orange counter. Sakura sighed and laid her head down, suddenly very tired. The day had been long and it just seemed to keep getting longer by her standards.

When she woke up she hadn't expected to be picked up by a cop, given a physical by an actual doctor, and trained by supposedly another cop. And this was just the beginning. How in the world was she going to explain this to Naruto? She groaned and sank further into her seat.

"Why?" her voice was muffled but Itachi still heard and hummed thoughtfully to himself. For the umpteenth time that day, he developed a sickening feeling in his chest.

When they arrived at Itachi's home, it was silent. He flicked on the light in the front room and moved towards the kitchen where he sat the bag of food down. She scrutinized the space with curious green eyes.

"I guess you have a nice house." She commented as she ran a slender finger over the leather couch beside her. She looked up to see Itachi staring at her with blank dark eyes. He grunted at her words before smirk fell on his features. She could feel a snotty remark about to float through the air.

"Don't steal anything." He chided. Sakura gaped at him and stubbornly crossed her arms over her chest.

"You caught me one time, okay? I don't steal everything I see." She explained. He scoffed as he emptied the bags, coming up with three ramen containers. She cocked a brow at him, wondering just how big his appetite was. "Are you going to eat-"

"It's about time you got home. Probably took long on purpose." A boy, Sakura guessed he was around her age, strolled in with a frustrated scowl on his face. He had the similar characteristic of dark hair, dark eyes, and pale skin. His brother, maybe.

"Sasuke." Itachi stated. Sakura just stood off to the side, suddenly feeling as if she didn't belong in this picture. Said boy perked up, looking up from his take-out box at the sound of his name. He looked up at his brother them followed his gaze.

Standing just mere feet away from him was a girl. With pink hair and strangely familiar clothes that he thought he had given away…month ago.

"Are those my clothes?" he asked with an arched eyebrow. Itachi sighed then reared his hand back to smack the insolent boy on the head. Sasuke winced and turned back to his brother with a scowl.

"Where are your manners?" He scolded the boy.

"Tch, whatever." Sasuke rolled his eyes and walked over to the girl who was silent the entire time. He narrowed his eyes at her, noticing how she furrowed her brows in response at the way he sized her up. She had to be pretty small if the clothes from his adolescence fit like they did. But it looked strange to see a non-Uchiha in the customary high collared attire.

"Uchiha Sasuke." He stuck out his hand. Sakura bit her lip, remembering the last time she shook hands with an Uchiha. Still, he didn't seem like the type to pull a stunt like that. Complying politely she laid her hand against his and gripped it lightly.

"Haruno Sakura." She replied. That was when the comparisons began. His hand wasn't as soft as Itachi's. His hair had a dark blue tint to it and was remarkably shorter than Itachi's as well. His eyes were pitch black and held a disinterested glint in them.

"Hn." He grunted and walked back to his food. Sakura sighed and followed behind him.

"Sakura will be a guest in our house for the next month. Please keep your foolishness to a minimum, otouto." Again, the younger boy scoffed before taking his food and leaving the area.

"Why of course, your Excellency." Sasuke bit back a sarcastic remark. "Thanks for the food." And with that, he was gone. Itachi sighed and grabbed the two containers and moved to a moderately sized table with four matching chairs. Sakura followed and sat down where he placed her meal and chopsticks.

"You'll have to excuse Sasuke. He's a bit of a grouch on a regular basis." He said. Sakura smiled lightly and nodded, opening the container and taking in the nostalgic scent of the ramen.

"How'd you know I liked miso?" she asked.

"Just a hunch." He shrugged.

"Itadakimasu." They chanted quietly before beginning to eat. Sitting on the table beside Itachi was that same black classified file that Sakura read through earlier. He noticed her staring and began answering her silent questions.

"We didn't have a chance to discuss the training you would have to undergo. Now's the perfect time, unless you would prefer to do it later." He asked.

"No, now is okay." He nodded and opened the file.

"In addition to physical training with Shisui every day you will have etiquette lessons, dance classes as well as a weekly tea session with Midori-sama to copy her mannerisms." All the while he was talking, Sakura listened silently, nodded every so often to let him know that she was paying attention. There was a lot involved in this mission, she mused as he continued. There wasn't a lot of room for mistakes to be made and knowing her she'd make plenty of them. There was also the fact that she'd be in his care for approximately three to four weeks.

"What happens after the mission is complete?" she asked out of curiosity.

"You will receive your payment and hopefully stay out of trouble." He arched an eyebrow at her to which she snorted.

"Don't size me up as if you know everything about me, Itachi-_san_." She sneered, reverting back to the honorific as she stood up from the table and dropped her box into the trash.

"It's not as if you've given me much to size up." He replied, standing to meet her. He towered over her small figure but she stood her ground, refusing to falter under his gaze.

"Excuse me for not confessing my entire life story to a complete stranger." She rolled her eyes and crossed her arms over her chest. A deep chuckle resonated in his chest as he lifted his arm, two fingers poised to jab her lightly in the middle of her wide forehead. She flinched at the action and stared up at him in confusion.

"We won't be strangers for long."

* * *

><p>If it were possible, Sakura would've laid in the guestroom bed for the rest of her days and not given a second thought to the outside world. It was like laying on a cloud of clouds. So soft and it smelled of lavender in early spring. She reveled in the glorious sheets of Egyptian cotton and let herself fall into a glorious slumber. It had been ages since she had gotten a good night's rest.<p>

"Hmm," she hummed softly as she rubbed her face against the pillow rested overtop of her arms. She had been so engrossed in her sleep, she failed to sense the presence of someone else in the room. It was a menacing presence that she would've scowled at had she been conscious. Said person inhaled a large breath before bellowing into a very loud megaphone.

"Ohayo Sakura-chan!" she physically jumped ten feet in the air, heart pounding a mile a minute, eyes darting back and forth searching desperately for the source of loud noise. The sound of obnoxious laughter caught her attention as she finally took notice of the other body currently situated on the floor laughing uncontrollably.

"Dear God! That was hilarious!" Shisui giggled from the floor. Not giving a second thought, Sakura pounced on him, recalling their sparring match and how he had her pinned to the ground.

The end result?

"Ouch!"

The curly haired Uchiha had a busted lip to match his still sore nose. He grumbled silently as he went through Itachi's freezer, searching for something to ease the swelling. He pulled out a bag of frozen vegetables before plopping down next to a brooding Sasuke who was smirking at his predicament. Itachi walked in from the hallway at gazed at the scene with disinterested eyes as he moved to fix breakfast. Seconds later, Sakura came out of the guestroom still fuming and giving Shisui the evil eye.

"Ohayo Sakura." Itachi called from the stove.

"Hmph, ohayo…" she muttered sitting on the other side of Sasuke who raised an eyebrow at her. For someone with pink hair, she sure wasn't very cheery. Her appearance contradicted her attitude. Ah, a walking contradiction if he ever saw one.

"Hn." He marveled at his keen observation.

"Itachi!" Shisui whined like child. "She hit me again!" though a grown man, he still managed to act like a ten year old. But it was a part of his character that Itachi found refreshing every so often.

"You probably deserved it." Both Uchiha brothers chimed in, causing him to grumble.

"Damn straight." Sakura added causing the man to growl.

"Just wait until training this afternoon pinky." He snapped back.

"What are you even doing here?" she asked, looking around Sasuke to glare at him.

"Huh? I always come for breakfast. Itachi makes the best tamagoyaki." With that, the angry scowl was replaced with a content one. Sakura stared on silently while Sasuke snickered.

"Aniki is the housewife in this relationship." He turned to Sakura with a smirk. That is, until a wooden spoon came soaring through the air and hit him square on his flawless cheek. "Ow!"

"Do not show out in front Sakura, foolish otouto." Itachi glared before returning to his kitchen duties. "Shisui and you yourself are simply too incompetent to complete basic household tasks."

A glaring match erupted between the two siblings, the tension so thick it could be cut with a knife. Itachi glared expertly while cooking the eggs. Sasuke narrowed his eyes into tiny black slits while gripping the back of his chair tightly as if he were about to stand. Shisui just shrugged at the situation despite the fact that he too had been insulted.

"Pfft. Ha…" a soft giggle escaped Sakura's lips as she fought to maintain her composure. But it was proving to be increasingly difficult as the nature of the situation continued to appear in the forefront of her mind until she was in a fit of uncontrollable laughter. The sound of her giggles reached the ears of the men occupying the room and did a little more than ease the tension.

Her laugh was a refreshing sound, almost addicting to the ears.

"You Uchihas," she wiped nonexistent tears. "are so weird."

* * *

><p><strong>AN:** I gave Shisui a little break in there. It's hard to imagine that he would be able to walk away with only a busted lip after waking Sakura like he did. Besides, I like Shisui despite the fact that we've only ever seen a picture of him -.- Darn you Kishi for leaving me guessing!

Anyway, this was a nice chapter to write. If you hadn't guessed already, the small restaurant was Ichiraku and the old man was Teuchi. Yay Teuchi! Congratulations on those who had the correct hunch. Also, congratulations to those who guessed Sasuke would be our other surprise guest. Kudos to you!

Special thanks: **The Woman on a Flaming Pie, xXx-darkblossoms-xXx, ke-ke999, RomanticallyDistant, kale-FTW, Akatsuki Sakura Uchiha, Kaydreams,** **Cassa-di-di Loves NaruHina, Theary94, DarkMangaIza, Toraberushi Meriemu, Mieko-chan12, and FakeMirage.**

You guys are awesome! Next chapter will be out soon (I hope…)

P.S.- If you guessed Sasuke would be our special guest, PM me so I can give you your prize!


	5. Chapter 5

"_That's crazy!"_ Sakura cringed and moved the phone away from her sensitive ear. After eating breakfast, she retreated back to the guestroom and decided to give Naruto a much needed phone call. She explained how she got caught and was required to work for the police for a term of one month. Of course that was expected to get a rise out of him even at this time in the morning.

"You're telling me." She replied. She was now going through the duffle bag which she suspected Shizune had left for her. Inside she found an abundance of underclothes, shampoo, conditioner, training clothes and the occasional casual outfit here and there. All in all, she was quite surprised with everything that lay inside the bag.

"_Well I guess you're gonna be off the streets for awhile then, huh?"_ he commented.

"For a month at least." She replied. He mumbled under his breath.

"_Awh! Who's supposed to help me out then? We're partners in crime, remember?"_ Sakura sighed at the sound of his whines. But she couldn't help but chuckle at how true the statement was.

"You're just gonna have to ride solo for awhile." He sighed over the phone.

"_Great. Just when I got a load of info about a gig we could've hit up together."_ Sakura raised an eyebrow.

"What gig?" she asked curiously. Her ears perked up at the sound of footsteps coming from down the hall and towards her room.

"_I don't really know a lot about it but apparently there's a ton of cash involved. That means no more instant ramen for us Sakura-chan! We'll be eatin' the real stuff!" _Sakura laughed shakily, recalling her consumption of the _'real stuff'_ just hours earlier.

"If you say so. See if you can find out more about it before you commit to anything." She warned.

"_Yeah, yeah I know. Be safe Sakura-chan! Don't let them turn you traitor either!"_ he laughed lightly. Sakura shook her head. She had just finished unpacking everything inside the bag, save for a few training outfits.

"Hai Naruto. Same to you too. Bye." Pressing the end button she tucked the phone inside a pocket on the bag and proceeded to stand, heading towards the door. Just as she was leaving, Shisui popped up out of nowhere and stood before her with a smirk on his face.

"I was just coming to get you. Come on, we're leaving." With that, he walked back down the hall and towards the front room. Sakura followed, expression laced with confusion. As she made her way through the house, she noticed that a particular door was open. Peering inside, she spotted Sasuke with his back turned to her, dutifully packing his backpack for school, she assumed.

"You need something?" his voice surprised her. She hadn't thought he would catch onto her watching him.

"Iie. Er, have a nice day I guess." She responded. He turned his head slightly towards her, gazing at her with blank eyes.

"Hn." And with that, he turned back to putting his books inside the dark bag. Sakura huffed and continued to follow Shisui, who was now standing at the door waiting for her. On her arrival she noticed Itachi was nowhere in sight and that the kitchen was completely spotless. It was as if no one had even touched it. Sasuke's earlier comment about Itachi being a housewife came to mind and she found herself fighting off a chuckle.

"Is it always this clean after breakfast?" she asked, coming up beside the older Uchiha.

"More or less. Itachi's a bit of a clean freak." He shrugged. "Come along little Sakura-chan. We've got a big day ahead of us!" he claimed as he clamped a heavy hand down on her petite shoulder. She raised an eyebrow at him before frowned.

"And what, pray tell, does this _'big day'_ include?" Sakura soon felt her stomach drop at Shisui's smug expression as he opened the door for them to leave.

* * *

><p>If Sakura thought running from old men on the street was tiring, she was dead wrong. Shisui was borderline slave driver with the way he was making her sweat, and bleed in some instances. In all his smug bruised face glory, he watched her suffer and didn't seem to be all that affected by it either.<p>

"Only 25 more laps to go Sakura-chan!" he shouted as she came around the curve of the outdoor track. He then decided to add a hardy, taunting laugh for good measure. She sneered through her fatigue and continued to run, ignoring the terrible burning in her legs. Oh how she would love to pummel him to oblivion what with the way he was making her work.

He spoke earlier of stamina training, explaining how when on a mission having a vital amount of energy is very important. Fatigue can make or break a person. And Sakura knew that. However, that didn't make running 50 laps around a standard track any less harder to accomplish. She would just be glad when it was over.

"20 more and you're done!" he shouted again. Sakura grumbled.

"17 Sakura-chan!" She grimaced.

"14 more! Or was it 12…?" she bit her lip in pure exhaustion.

"You've got 5 left!" her limps felt extremely heavy all of the sudden.

"100 more feet and you're-! Sakura-chan? Whoa, kid!" Shisui was immediately at her side where she had promptly tripped over her own two feet and landed flat on her face. She was panting heavily, breaths coming out in labored huffs while practically every muscle throbbed painfully.

"Heh, I guess that was a bit much, huh?" he commented sheepishly as he picked her up from the ground and slung her arm over his shoulder. Her once pale face was completely read and her green eyes were hooded and covered in fatigue. They barely got two feet before Shisui discovered that he was dragging her across the rest of the track. He laughed to himself before sloppily moving her to rest on his back.

"Ohayo Shisui-san, aren't you—oh my, you did it again didn't you?" Shizune deadpanned at the man as he sauntered in, pink-haired teenager slung across his person. He laid her down on the bed and took a few steps away.

"Well, it was bound to happen eventually." He shrugged. The doctor sighed and took the poor girl's pulse before taking a seat on the rolling stool in her office.

"How many laps was it?" she asked.

"50." He replied.

"Right off the bat, huh? Any conditioning?" he nodded and she sighed again.

"Come on Shizune-chan! You know how this goes. If we don't work on it now, she'll pay for it later." He explained. Heavy groaning caught their attention as Sakura struggled to open her eyes.

"I'd rather pay for it later." Was her reply. Shishu snickered and bent down over her tired form.

"You're still alive, aren't you? Besides we're done for today." He grinned widely, ruffling her pink locks.

"Thank god." She sighed.

"Now you have to go meet Obito for mission protocol!" he cheered. Sakura sat up abruptly, immediately regretting of course, and shot Shisui an incredulous glare.

"Protocol? Haven't I done that like twelve times already?" she asked, holding her spinning head.

"Ah, that you have but not officially. We want to make sure you understand every single detail about this mission. And who better to explain than Obito?" she exhaled loudly before, slowly but surely, slipping off the couch. She received an icepack from Shizune before the door suddenly opened.

"Rin-san!" Shizune stood up from her chair, greeting the dark haired woman. Rin grinned accordingly before her eyes fell on Sakura and she offered a kind smile.

"Hello everyone." She called. "I take it this is the Haruno Sakura I've heard so much about."

"You got it. Sakura-chan, this is Rin-chan. She's a doctor just like Shizune-chan. Rin-chan, this is Sakura-chan." The two shook hands before Rin sighed.

"I'm here to take you to Obito for your mission protocol." She explained. Sakura nodded and followed her out of the room.

"I take it you've already experienced Shisui-san's training?" the woman asked as they walked down the hallway.

"Is it that obvious?" Sakura replied. Rin merely giggled into her hand as they continued on. She was a pretty woman, dark brown shoulder length hair, brown eyes and two purple rectangles on her face; one on either side of her cheeks.

"Just a little. Shisui-san can be a bit ruthless at times." She commented.

"You're telling me. My legs feel like noodles." Sakura joked. She found it extremely easy to talk with this woman for some reason, like they were connected somehow.

"Ah, no pain no gain right? By the time he's done drilling you, you'll be ready for just about anything." She smiled at her once more. It was the type of smile that was convincing and encouraging, something that Sakura hadn't seen in Kami knows how long. The smile that made you want to smile too.

So she did. And boy did it feel weird.

"You have a very pretty smile, Sakura-san." She beamed at her. Sakura unknowingly blushed and turned away stubbornly.

"S-so?" the woman giggled as they came upon a door that had _Uchiha Obito _printed on the front. She pushed it open and found the office to be completely empty. Rin sighed and gestured for Sakura to have a seat.

"He's late again. There's no telling when he's going to get here." Rin pulled up a chair next to Sakura and gave an apologetic grin.

"Does this happen often?" Sakura asked.

"All the time. If he wasn't a part of the family he would've been fired a long time ago." Rin joked. Sakura huffed out a laugh. "Would you like to have a little chat while we wait?"

* * *

><p>So, Rin just became Sakura's new favorite person. They were so much alike it was quite sickening. While talking, they learned just how similar their childhoods were. Sakura found out how Rin became a part of Police Force's medical team and how she knew Obito. To Sakura, it sounded like she was meeting her future self.<p>

Yes, Rin was once a street girl. Sadly, she did not get picked up by a cop one day and blackmailed into a mission.

"But are lives are paralleled to one another. It's like I'm talking to my past." The older woman grinned.

"Wow I never would've thought that-"

And suddenly, the door swung open bringing a winded Obito with it. He grinned sheepishly as his eyes fell on Rin then flew to Sakura.

"Ah, ohayo!" he called. Rin abruptly stood and marched over to him. With blinding speed she caught him by the scuff of his shirt and tugged him forward.

"You idiot, it's not even morning anymore! Do you have any idea how long you've kept us waiting?" she shouted at the man. He coward under her grip and gulped nervously.

"It was that long was it?" he asked. Rin sighed and released him. He exhaled a long breath while whipping non-existent sweat from his brow.

"Just…get going will you? I'll see you later Sakura-san." With that, Rin left the two alone.

"She can be so scary at times." He shook his head as he rearranged the papers scattered across his desk. "Now, let's get started shall we?

* * *

><p><strong>AN:** I'll end here. This chapter is extremely boring, I understand. But! We got a new character so that's exciting. Also, there will be some SasuSaku friendship in this story but nothing more than that. Next chapter will be more exciting and Itachi will actually be in it so tuned for that.

Thanks go to: **TeamTHEFT, AutumnApple, Akatsuki Sakura Uchiha, loves0sharingon0boys, Karleta, misslittleangel, rose12711, Winner479, **and **faith199361.**

You guys rock! Also if it's not too much trouble, could I get more reviews? I'd really like to know what you guys think. Even if it's just one word. Thanks in advance!


	6. Chapter 6

"I can't believe I had to wait two hours just for him to tell me the same crap over again! I swear I don't understand this police stuff at all." Sakura ranted as she ambled through the police head quarters with absolutely no idea where she was going. The place was just so huge!

Sighing, she decided to take a seat on an oddly placed bench and just wait for someone, anyone really, to find her. With her luck it could be Itachi or some other random cop who looked just like him. Ah, like the gentleman walking right by her with a seemingly permanent scowl on his aged face. My, he sure did resemble a big bowl of sunshine.

"…" he stopped walking and regarded her silently. Sakura arched an eyebrow at the man, suddenly quite nervous under his piercing glance. She couldn't ignore the sudden urge to pee her pants, he was kind of scary.

"Uh-" she started.

"What are you doing here?" Even his voice was scary! It was like he was yelling but talking at the same time. Her frantic heart skipped several beats as she remained trapped within his stare. Dear gods those dark eyes were scaring the crap out of her. At least Itachi's eyes were mysterious and Shisui's were playful. This guy had the pits of hell inside of his.

"I-I'm waiting for I-Itachi." Was the only thing her brain comprehended. Thank goodness this wasn't some sort of interrogation or she would've been reduced to a pool of mush. He hummed at her statement as the glaring pits of hell were replaced with something akin to curiosity and pride. It made sense that he would know Itachi, the guy seemed to be quite popular.

"Hn. You must be the girl he recruited for the governor's mission." He concluded. Wow, everyone knows about the mission, she thought. Sakura nodded shakily. "Do not fail us Haruno Sakura."

And with that, the big bad scary bowl of sunshine was gone.

Sakura exhaled an enormous breath of air that she had been holding in as soon as he was completely out of her sight. How'd he know her name? Was Itachi the gossiping type? Shit, practically everyone knew who she was yet she only knew a handful of people. It was unnerving that so many cops had information on her. Good thing she didn't have any wanted signs hanging up.

"Sakura," said girl jumped ten feet in the air at the sound of her name being called. At first she thought it was the scary guy again what with how similar the voices sounded. Upon closer inspection she found it to be Itachi staring at her with amusement swimming in his dark eyes. She narrowed her own as she clutched her heart, trying to slow its beating.

"Don't do that!" she scolded him.

"Hn. What were you and tou-san talking about?" he asked, eyes narrowing dangerously.

Wait…tou-san?

"Tou-san? You mean that intimidating piece of human being was your father? Why's he so…so scary?" she asked, very confused.

"Being captain of the police force means you have a strict image to uphold. I apologize if he frightened you." Again, his eyes were laced with mirth as if he were mocking her fear. Sakura huffed and moved to stand up, noting at the sudden soreness of her legs.

"Yeah well…whatever!" she made a move to walk down the hallway. "Don't we have somewhere to be?"

"Aa. You're etiquette classes are next."

"You're not going to pair me up with some old lady, are you?"

"Hn."

'_I really hate it when he does that.'_

* * *

><p>Itachi led Sakura to a large, expensive hotel right in the center of the city. It was known for being a place where the elites and celebrities came. She vaguely remembered her and Naruto raiding the kitchen a few times. Ah, good times.<p>

"Ah, welcome Uchiha-sama. The space you requested is ready for you." The male at the desk bowed politely as the two passed. Itachi nodded in agreement as he gestured for Sakura to follow him through elaborately decorated double doors.

The inside of the room wasn't all that big, just very fancy. The furniture was very much baroque style which meant overly decorated. There was expensive carpet on the floor, a vastly decorated table in the center a glass chandelier hanging from the ceiling.

"Wow…" she whispered out.

"This is where your etiquette classes will take place. Your instructor will arrive shortly. In the mean time a tailor will be here to fit you for your training dress." He explained. Wait, what?

"Dresses? But I-"

"It's necessary." He sure did like to interrupt her a lot.

"Took you long enough to get here Itachi. You know I don't like waiting." Sakura turned her attention to the gentlemen coming in from the opposite entrance. Wow, he was really pretty. Oops, that wasn't supposed to come out.

"Hn. Sakura, meet Akasuna Sasori. He'll be your tailor. Sasori, this is Haruno Sakura." Itachi introduced the two. Sasori stood about a half a head shorter than Itachi with pale skin and fire red hair. He looked bored to death as he stared at her with dull brown eyes.

"Doesn't look like much." The red head sneered. Sakura narrowed her eyes at him. "Follow me, girl."

'_What an ass… he's not so pretty anymore.'_

Sasori led her to a back room that was filled to the brim with dresses stuffed in plastic bags. He sighed he entered and grabbed the measuring tape. Sakura awkwardly stood by the door as she waited for instructions.

"Where'd that idiot go this time?" he sighed heavily as he began sifting around the dresses causing the plastic to ruffle against each other making large amounts of noise. "Oi! Deidara! Get out here you pest!"

"Can't a guy go to the restroom without you tearing up the place? Sheesh, un." Scaring Sakura for the third time, a tall blond suddenly appeared by the door, scratching his chin thoughtfully. Oh gosh he was pretty too. Sakura blushed lightly as she took a few cautious steps away from the guy only to trip over something and fall flat on her back.

"Ah!" she shrieked as her world came crashing down.

"Ungraceful." Sasori commented.

"Easy there, you're not hurt are you? Un." Deidara easily walked through the mass of dresses and pulled her up by the arm.

"Just my pride." She whispered. He grinned at that.

"Funny. So you must be the girl we're fitting, Sakura right?" he asked. Sakura nodded and looked over at Sasori who was eyeing a few dresses in the back. "I'm Deidara, nice to meet you, un."

"Likewise."

"Can we get started, please?" Sasori grumbled.

"Sure, sure. Step up on that stand Sakura-chan." Following his commandments she stood on a wooden stool and watched curiously as Sasori began to take down her measurements.

"Hm. Not very tall. Around five foot four inches. How tall is Midori-sama?" he asked. Sakura pursed his lips at his insult to her height.

"Five foot six inches, un." Deidara replied.

"It's a good thing you're short girl. Order four inch heels." He called.

"Four inch heels?" she exclaimed.

"You're remarkably shorter than her. Midori-sama always wears two inch heels. Do the math. Band size is 36. Midori?"

"38, un."

"Damn. Cup size is a B, being generous here."

"Hey!"

"Not my fault weren't _gifted_ in this area."

"She's a C, borderline D."

"Padded bra." Sasori commented as he moved to her hips.

"Padded b-bra?" she whispered.

"Be grateful we didn't find you earlier or you would've definitely had implants. Waist is a 24."

"24, un."

"Finally a match. I was beginning to lose hope." Sakura's eye twitched.

"Why you-"

"Hips 34 and a half."

"32, un."

"Girdle. Done. Let's see what we can find you." With that, Sakura was allowed to step down from the stand and watch as they went to work. At first, they seemed like they constantly bickered with one another but watching them now, they worked in perfect sync.

Soon they approached her with several different dresses, all different colors and designs.

"Since Deidara's an idiot and impractical you will have a different dress for each etiquette class." Sasori explained.

"And since Sasori has the brain of a 70 year old woman each dress with be different shades of the same color, un. Here's today's dress." Right off the hanger, he handed her a knee length poofy dress. The upper torso was a maroon color with velvet material while the bottom half was off white and tulle, the scratchy stuff.

"The color that goes best with Midori's skin tone is red and its various shades. Therefore, you will also be dressed in the same manor. We'll leave while you put it on."

"Good luck!" With that, the two men left her to put on the insufferable get up that sent shivers down her slim spine. Sighing, Sakura began taking off her training clothes in order to put on the dress. Surprisingly, it fit like a glove.

It was strapless while the sleeves rested just below her shoulders with a modest dip above her chest. The bottom sleeves stopped at her elbows. The lower torso hugged her hips nicely as the rest of the dress fanned out neatly stopping at her knees. Just as she was about to zip up the back, a series of knocks sounded.

"I'm decent!" she shouted. Expecting Sasori or Deidara, she turned her back towards the door with her hand just shy of the zipper. "Could you…?"

"Hn."

"I-Itachi?" She craned her neck back to see Itachi peering down her back and expertly pulling the zipper up. He then moved to the large maroon laces and silently tied them into a large bow. Sakura went red and bit her lip as he worked, refusing to acknowledge his presence in such an awkward setting. Just when she thought he was finished, he had reached his arm over her head with a maroon ribbon in each hand to around her neck. He stepped back when he was done.

Sakura fingered the fine silk of the ribbon as she turned to face him. He regarded her, again, with calculating onyx eyes but this time was different. There was something soft and endearing behind them that made Sakura shift uncomfortably in the dress. He made a move to come stand behind her. Before she could ask what he was doing, Itachi had taken a handful of her pink locks and was gently combing through it with a brush that seemed to appear out of nowhere.

The feel of his hands working through her hair was a lulling feeling and Sakura found herself fighting to stay conscious although standing. He worked in soft strokes, combing out the tangles but without hurting her. No wonder his hair looked so silky all the time. Sakura had unknowingly closed her eyes but opened them once the presence of his hands was gone. Her hair was pinned up in a neat bun with her bangs combed over to the left side and pinned in place. Where had he gotten pins from anyway?

"You…how'd you…" her voice trailed off as she caught sight of herself in the mirror. Well she'd be damned! She actually looked pretty. Sakura smiled softly as she fingered her reflection. It had been such a long time since she had seen this side of herself. It was good to know it still existed. Itachi came up behind her, resting his large hands on her bare shoulders.

"You look nice."

* * *

><p><strong>AN: **You know I actually have to restrain myself from updating? Yeah, I really do. Gosh I just get into chapters so much and I can't help but want you guys to read it! Like this one! I finished it Tuesday night and could've updated on Wednesday but I didn't because it was just too soon so I'm updating today. Aren't I terrible? Haha!

Three new character introductions today! Fugaku the bowl of sunshine along with Deidara and Sasori the pretty dress designers. Ah, I love introducing new characters. Does anyone else think Fugaku is terrifying? I mean, Itachi is scary too but at least we know he had a soft side. Fugaku looks like he could set a house on fire just by looking at it. Gives me shivers down my spine. Moving on! Etiquette classes begin in the next chapter! Who's going to be her teacher? Can you guess?

Thanks to: **bluederk, KawaiixKesshou, Karleta, Sped03, WalkingOnTheStars, Akatsuki Sakura Uchiha, MadamGoldEyes, I'maWaffle, UchihaSakura2007, teamTHEFT, Lady Lauren, YamisFallenHikari2112, bestfriendsmusic, Dani Naminco07, **and **coco4life123.** You guys made my day. Special thanks to everyone who reviewed! Be on the lookout for the link to what Sakura looks like in today's etiquette dress!


	7. Chapter 7

"Sit up straight you wretched child!" SMACK! Sakura gritted her teeth in frustration and pain as that blasted ruler came crashing down on her severely red wrist.

"I am sitting up straight you old—ouch!"

"Watch your tongue!" SMACK! Oh this woman was irking her senseless.

"Listen here you prehistoric creature! Hit me with that stick one more time and I'll-" SMACK!

"You're such a rude little girl. Why I never-!"

"SHANNARO!"

_Just moments earlier…_

Sakura and Itachi had just reentered the conference room where, seated on the couch, was an elderly woman sipping on a cup of tea. She looked up at their arrival and smiled sweetly at them.

"Itachi-kun, it's been quite some time since I've last seen you. My you've grown into quite the handsome young man." She cooed.

"Thank you. This is Haruno Sakura, your trainee." He started. "Sakura, this is Chiyo-baa-sama your etiquette teacher."

"How do you do? Such a pretty thing, just like Midori-sama." She hummed cheerfully. Sakura took her aged hand in her own and shook it politely.

"Nice to meet you."

"I'll leave you to it then. Good luck, Sakura." With that, Itachi left. Sakura always felt nervous whenever he left her to her own devices. But this time was a little different. Seriously, what could this cute little old lady do to her that wasn't worse than what she had already experienced with Shisui and the pretty boys?

"Well, now that those silly introductions are out of the way, why don't we get started, hm?" she gestured for her to sit down. Sakura complied and sat down on the opposite couch. Chiyo then took the tea pot and refilled her own cup offering to fill Sakura's. "Tea?"

"Sure." Twitch. Suddenly, a very dark shadow appeared on the old woman's face as she paused in mid action.

"Your reply should be 'Yes, please.'" Came her response. "Proper ladies do not use words like 'Sure.'" Sakura cocked a brow before rolling her eyes.

"Whatever…" Double twitch. Before Sakura could blink seering pain erupted on her forearm causing her to flinch. Nursing it gently, she looked up to see Chiyo wielding a ruler type item tightly in her hand while staring her down with malice. "What was that for?"

"Proper ladies do not use words like 'Whatever.'" She scolded again. Sakura smirked.

"What. Ever." SMACK! "Ow!"

"You will learn to choose your words wisely. Now, would you like a cup of tea?" she asked once more, her sweet façade back on. Sakura gritted her teeth.

"Yes, please." Chiyo hummed in approval as she poured in a generous amount of green tea. Sakura sighed and made a move to grab the cup. Just as her right hand gripped the handle and her left moved to cup the other side, the ruler came down once more. "Ouch! What'd I do this time?"

"Do not use contractions! And that is the incorrect way to hold a tea cup. Watch closely as I will only do this once." With that, Chiyo sat the stick down in front of her and took the cup in her wrinkled hands. Using her right hand only, she wrapped her index finger around the handle while moving her thumb at the top of the handle while the other fingers rested at the bottom; pinky in. "See? Now you try."

Sakura took the cup in her hand, copying the woman's exact movements. Her left hand twitched waiting to add it in for extra support. Chiyo seemed to be warning her with her eyes not to move that hand an inch.

"Good. When drinking your tea do not slurp loudly but sip quietly. Also keep your eyes on your tea and not on other people, lest you spill it on yourself. When finished, place the cup back on the saucer." Sakura sighed and sat the cup back in its rightful place before scratching an itch on her cheek.

SMACK!

"Geez! That hurts!" she protested.

"It is meant to hurt. Proper ladies must not scratch themselves in public for it is quite unbecoming." Chiyo chanted.

"Who cares? If I have an itch then I'm going to scratch!" Sakura retorted. Chiyo glared before huffing and setting the stick down. She picked up her small spoon and began stirring her tea soundlessly before bring it up to her mouth.

"You have much to learn. That mouth of yours is guaranteed to get you into trouble young lady." Sakura sneered.

"Same to you old woman." She snorted.

"Such insolence!" SMACK! Sakura hissed.

"That's getting old real fast!"

"Do not use contractions! Sit up straight you wretched child!"

_Present time…_

Sakura was on her feet, proudly holding a broken piece of the ruler in each of her hands as Chiyo stared up at her with surprise. The pinkette then tossed the pieces haphazardly to the side as she plopped down on the couch, legs and arms crossed arrogantly.

"You possess a very strong will. I like that. However, you must not think of me to be incompetent that I would bring only one correction stick." Sakura grimaced at the large bag filled with the accursed rulers. "We have much to go over."

"Damnit!" SMACK!

"No profanity!"

* * *

><p>The police station was always busy. Of course, Konoha was a large place full of dastardly criminals that needed to be apprehended. Even so, the workers often found time to laze about and converse with one another. Something Itachi never quite count onto.<p>

So imagine his surprise when he happened upon one Uchiha Yashiro lounging about the break room talking to one of the new recruits with a previously steaming cup of coffee in his hands.

"Yashiro-san," he called. There was an immediate frown on the man's at being interrupted. The frown deepened once he realized just who had halted his conversation. The captain's beloved first born. Mad scowl!

"Have you retrieved the file I asked for?" it was a simple question that required a simple answer. Too bad Yashiro refused to be simple. He grunted in annoyance and slid the younger Uchiha the file, sending a squinted glare for good measure and returning to his previous conversation.

Itachi smirked. Now that his daily vexing of Yashiro was complete he could continue on with his day. He stepped into his office and laid the file on his desk where he just stared at it. He pondered its contents before opening it.

He had asked Yashiro to look up Haruno and provide a file with vital information. He would not've bothered if the girl wasn't so darn mysterious. And he knew she wouldn't tell him herself so the only way to find out was to snoop.

Opening the folder, Itachi grimaced at the words that literally crept off the page.

Hours later, Itachi arrived to find both women at each other's throats. Chiyo was frowning deeply and Sakura looked beyond pissed with two severely red forearms. Just as he was about to collect the young girl, she foolishly, as he described, launched herself at the elderly woman only to receive an onslaught of slaps from the correction stick.

"_When defending yourself, every body part is fair game young lady." _Came the words of Chiyo as she laughed fruitfully at Sakura's expense. She then proceeded to cackle menacingly which unnerved both occupants.

So now, riding back to his house he noticed that Sakura had fallen asleep in the passenger seat with her head propped against the window. He smirked to himself as he recalled the predicament he had gotten himself into.

It was a gamble. Itachi did not gamble. But this, he simply couldn't resist. If the mission was a success, his name would no doubt go down in history. If it was a fail? There was no fail as Itachi did not fail. Itachi and the word fail do not even belong in the same brainwave.

He pulled into the driveway, swiftly exited the vehicle and moved to the other side where he opened Sakura's door. He removed her seatbelt and slipped his arms under her form, lifting her up from the seat and shutting the door with his foot.

"What? Are you playing chivalrous knight in shining armor now?" came the teasing remark from the organism he called brother. Itachi promptly ignored the boy and moved to guestroom where he gently laid her down on the bed.

"How was your day, otouto?" Itachi asked, sensing Sasuke at the door. The boy then snorted.

"You ask as if you care." Was he response. Itachi sighed, standing up from the bed.

"For the time being, I am your guardian. So yes, I do care. Have you eaten anything?" they both entered the kitchen where Itachi went to work on dinner and Sasuke sat down at the counter, resting his head in his palms.

"Not since lunch." Itachi hummed in acknowledgement. It was silent again, the only sounds being food cooking and the occasional tap of Sasuke's fingers rolling against the countertop. Soon they were alerted of their house guest as a yawning Sakura came strolling into the front room after her little catnap. She joined Sasuke at the counter where she laid her head down on her arms.

"Rough day?" he commented with a smirk. She grunted and blew up her hair tiredly.

"You have no idea." Sasuke snorted as he gazed at her from the corner of his eye. She was a strange one. Especially since Itachi never brought anyone room for the sake of a mission. Heck, he never even brought women home for the sake of pleasure! Not that Sasuke wanted him to, gross.

Not only that, but she was indifferent towards all of them, Shisui included. If he ever talked back to Itachi there a slim chance that'd he'd walk away unscathed. Maybe it was because she was a girl. But Itachi doesn't _like_ girls, he thought.

He watched her again, noticing how her green eyes were locked on the enigmatic figure of his brother and how he moved about the kitchen. He smirked at the flicker of amusement that flashed in her eyes before she spoke.

"Itachi is a bit of a housewife, isn't he?" she whispered to him. At her statement, a strikingly familiar wooden spoon came flowing across the room and smacked against her forehead. "Ouch!"

Ah, screw all his previous thoughts. If she could provoke Itachi to the point of attack she was alright in his book.

"I met your father today," he stared at her. "He's really scary."

To her surprise, Sasuke laughed.

"Hn. Try being his kid."

* * *

><p><strong>AN:** This chapter was hard to write. I don't like hard things. Therefore I don't like this chapter. But alas, it had to be written. Trust me, if I could leave this chapter out and continue on with the story I would. Anyway, the etiquette teacher is elder Chiyo! Whoo! Are you surprised? I figure Chiyo is old enough and seems to fit the bill for etiquette teacher what with her fast hands on that correction stick. And those smacks really do hurt.

Also, Itachi had the Haruno filed looked up! Oh! What do you think is inside that caused him to grimace? I'll let you use your imagination on that one. Lastly, I had to add Sasuke's bit at the end. I love Sasuke when he's not hell bent on revenge. He's just so easy to work with. Itachi is the hard one what with his emotionless…ness. Question! Who should be our next special guest? I'm contemplating adding Sai in there just so Sakura can have someone to punch every now and again. And don't worry, Naruto will be popping up soon.

Thanks to: **EmmettLover93, Karleta, Kaydreams, MadamGoldEyes, TeamTHEFT, Echo Uchiha, ProBowler, Akatsuki Sakura Uchiha, Lady Lauren, MartialArtsMistress, Oh-Holy-Ruler-Mika-chan, TobiBlack, **and my anonymous reviewers who didn't leave names! I really appreciate your support thus far!

P.S.- It's late, technically early, and I know I'm going to be too busy to update later on so I'm giving this to you now. Be grateful! Haha! See you in chapter 8!


	8. Chapter 8

Sakura sighed contently as her body collapsed atop wonderfully soft sheets. The weekend had finally arrived. After five days of murderous training with a sadistic bastard and lady lessons with a bitter old woman she was finally done, at least she hoped. Her body still hadn't gotten used to Shisui's training, hince her position on the bed; half on half off.

Still, it felt good. Gods it felt so good. So good she didn't want to move. Just a few more seconds and she'd be-!

_VRRR…VRRR…VRRR_

"Dammit!" she cursed as she slid off the bed and onto the floor where she scrambled to her duffle bag where her phone was resting in the outside pocket. "Hello?"

"_Ah, Sakura-san. I was hoping you'd pick up."_ Her eyes widened a tad before they narrowed.

"Sai?" she asked.

"_How are you? I haven't seen you in a while." _Was his cordial reply.

"I'm fine. What do you want?"

"_I'm doing well, thank you. I just purchased the most interesting book the other day."_ She grit her teeth in annoyance.

"Sai."

"_Hm?"_ he hummed, acknowledging her call.

"What do you want?" she asked once more.

"_Very well then. I find your sudden absence quite odd. It's like you've disappeared. Care to inform me of your location?"_

"I don't see how that's any of your business." She growled. He chuckled lightly.

"_I suppose it's not, though I'm really not the one who needs to know."_ He said. Sakura sighed in frustration.

"I-I'm done Sai. Don't call me anymore." She replied with uncertainty.

"_Is that so? Interesting."_ That was his only answer before the line went dead. Sakura tossed the phone across the room before returning to her previous position, enjoying the relaxing feel of the sheets beneath her. She sighed once more, trying to erase the previous conversation from her mind while focusing on other things. Like what this weekend would entail.

She could only guess.

"Are you going to leave her here?" came the hushed voice of a bored Sasuke. Sakura pried one eye open.

"No." coupled with Itachi's simple reply. She strained to hear the younger sibling's annoyed grunt at his lack of response.

"So you're bringing her?" Sasuke asked again.

"I don't see why you're so concerned about this." Itachi replied again.

"Just answer the question!" no longer bored but plenty irritated, Sasuke shouted.

"There's no need to shout. Whatever happens will happen. Don't align yourself with my doings, Sasuke. It's none of your concern." Ah, there was the long winded response he was waiting for. By now, Sakura was sitting up in the bed, inching towards the door.

"I don't see how this doesn't concern me." Sasuke grumbled.

"And I fail to see how it does." Itachi replied. Sasuke sighed and Sakura heard retreating footsteps.

"Fine. Do whatever you want." And the sulking teenager left a smirking Itachi in the hallway, standing triumphant.

"I didn't know I needed your permission." She could practical feel the arrogance bouncing off him in waves as he turned toward her room and began walking. Sakura immediately laid down, pretending to sleep as he made his presence known by giving the door a gentle knock. She cracked open one eye as he stepped inside, seeing through her act. She sat up slowly and watched as he took a seat in the chair that was situated by an empty desk.

"Sakura." He called. She furrowed her brows as she looked into his eyes. Itachi stared back, his gaze unwavering as he leaned forward, elbows resting on his knees and hands clasped together.

"Yes?" she answered back. Pause for dramatic effect. He still stared at her and as much as she wanted to call it creepy, she didn't. Or more like, she couldn't. Stamping Itachi as a creep, while tempting, was nearly impossible as he didn't own the characteristics of a creep. The mannerisms like staring, maybe but a lot of people stared. As she pondered her thoughts, she couldn't help but laugh at the strangeness of them.

"You find humor in this?" he quirked a brow. Sakura bit her lip to maintain composure.

"I'm not sure what_ this _is but yes, it's kind of funny." She replied. He pondered her response and hummed lightly.

"I see." Sakura shifted uncomfortably on the bed as her eyes drifted to her bare calves, as she was dressed in a pair of loose shirts. She looked back up at Itachi to find him still staring at her. And it wasn't a superficial glance that she was expecting. No, it was an analytical glance like he was trying to figure her out.

"Itachi…"

"Your favorite food," he said. Sakura quirked a brow at the question, not understanding. "Tell me."

"What? Why?" she asked.

"…" he was silent. She sighed.

"Umeboshi." She replied.

"Hanami dango." His response.

"Huh?"

"Favorite color." And it went on like that for the next hour or so. He'd ask something, she'd reply and he'd give a response. Sakura didn't take Itachi as someone who would be interested in such things but he asked as if his life depended on it. Knowing him, there had to be a deeper meaner to what he was doing.

"Siblings?"

"Only child."

"Hn. Sasuke is my only sibling."

"Really? You must be very close."

"You can assume that. Parents?" all of the sudden, her eyes darkened significantly.

"…I don't have any."

"People who gave birth to you, then."

"They are insignificant." Was her steely reply. She was now glaring at the bed sheets, refusing to meet his gaze.

"Sakura-"

"What's with all the questions? What are you trying to do?" she asked in an accusing tone.

"Get to know you." She gasped at his reply while he stood and began making his way to the door. "Get dressed."

"What for?"

"Dinner. We're not staying here." He said before he left the room. Sakura stood abruptly, intent on getting her questions answered.

"Wait! Where are we-!" but he was already down the hall. Sakura gritted her teeth in frustration before she slammed the door shut and crossed her arms over her chest. She stomped about the room before coming across her duffle bag and throwing things out of it in anger. Gosh, he was just so infuriating sometimes.

Begrudgingly, she followed his orders and got dressed. She decided the casual clothes Shizune packed for her would suffice as she left the comfort of the guest bedroom and moved to the front room where Sasuke and Itachi stood waiting for her. She avoided the elder brother's gaze and chose to stare down at their shoes instead.

They left the house in silence, Itachi taking the driver's seat while Sakura dragged Sasuke to back with her, making Itachi chauffeur. He shrugged at the arrangement but made sure to keep an open ear for their conversations. Sasuke grumbled at the girl and sent her a glare as he got situated in his seat.

"What?" he asked.

"Where are we going?"

"…"

"Come on! Don't be such a wuss! Just tell me!" she threatened him.

"And? What if I don't?" he asked, arching a brow.

"Huh? What is your guys' problem with answering simple questions?" she asked no one in particular.

"It's genetic." He shrugged. Sakura sighed.

"Tell me, please."

"My parents house." Came his reply.

"What? Why?"

"Friday is family dinner night initiated by my mother." He grimaced.

"That means I have to see your dad again. He gives me the creeps." Sakura frowned.

"That he does. That he does." Sasuke repeated himself. Sakura glared. "Don't sweat it. Mother is the complete opposite if it makes you feel any better."

"It doesn't." was her reply as she fell back in the seat, choosing to ignore both Uchiha's. Family dinner night, huh? They didn't seem like the type of people that participated in things that sounded so silly. "Is Shisui going to be there?"

"He pops up from time to time." That erupted another sigh from the pinkette. There was no guarantee that Shisui would be there to provide a source of comfort that Itachi and Sasuke were failing to give her as they got ever closer to the Uchiha home. For Sakura was the type of person who had an overly vivid imagination. Despite Sasuke informing her that his mother was not like his father she couldn't help but imagine a hard woman with same scornful frown on her face to match her husband.

Imagine her surprise when a jovial woman came bounding down the driveway to greet her two sons with open arms.

"Welcome home!" she exclaimed as she threw her arms around Itachi who awkwardly, Sakura snickered, returned the gesture. She then moved to Sasuke who seemed a little more excited, if a small smirk can be seen as excited, to see his mom after what Sakura assumed had been a week.

"Hello mother." Itachi greeted politely. Sakura rolled her eyes as she stood off to the side, arms folded across his chest. He was even formal with his own mother. The woman merely laughed lightly as she ushered the two boys inside.

"Come, come, come! Dinner is almost ready." It was then that she noticed the presence of another person. "Oh! Excuse my manners, dear. You must be Sakura-san."

"Uhm, yes. Haruno sakura." She replied, remembering that 'proper ladies say yes and not yeah.' She grimaced at the sound of Chiyo's voice ringing in her head.

"Uchiha Mikoto. It's a pleasure to meet you." Wow, Sasuke was actually right! She was the exact opposite of Fugaku in every sense of the word. "When Itachi told me you had pink hair I was a little hard pressed to believe him, but wow. Is it natural?"

"Yes." She nodded. Mikoto hummed in agreement as they stepped into the traditional Japanese home. The guests removed their shoes before entering. Itachi and Sasuke entered the front room where, seated at the small table sipping on a cup of tea, was Fugaku in all his intimidating glory. He acknowledged his sons with a firm nod before his dark eyes moved to the girl standing beside his wife.

"Welcome Haruno-san," he greeted the pinkette. Sakura stiffened at the recognition.

"Ah, thank you for having me Uchiha-san." He nodded in approval before turning back to his two children. Yes! Those godforsaken etiquette classes were finally paying off. Instead of her joining the Uchiha males at the table, Sakura followed Mikoto to the kitchen where two pots were steaming calmly on the stove.

"We usually have a tradition Japanese style dinner but I decided to spice things up a little. Tonight, we're venturing off into the world of Italy with spaghetti and tomato sauce, Sasuke-chan loves tomatoes." She explained. Sure enough, there were noodles cooking in one pot, and red sauce in the other. All in all, it smelled divine.

"And we rarely have dessert but Hanami dango sounds good, right? It's-"

"Itachi's favorite." Sakura blurted only to hastily cover her mouth afterwards. Mikoto gave her a surprised look before a smile appeared on her face.

"How'd you know?" there was a mischievously glint in her warm dark eyes that suddenly alerted Sakura.

"Uhm, he told me?" she answered with uncertainty.

"Really? Hmm, Itachi-chan must trust you then." She concluded before turning back to the meal on the stove. "Would you like to help me with dinner Sakura-san? Normally I wouldn't ask a guest, but I'm rather nervous about tonight's meal. I want everything to go smoothly."

With that, Sakura went to work in the decent sized kitchen taking clean cut instructions from the older woman while engaging in harmless conversation. Sakura strained the noodles while Mikoto continuously seasoned the sauce until it was perfect. Unlike Itachi, who owned plain white dishes and clear glasses, Mikoto had a wide array of dishware to choose from and for some reason it excited Sakura to be in charge of such a major decision.

In the end she chose white dishes with rounded edges and a dip in the center. Mikoto smiled at her choice as she took the cups from the cupboard and sat them next to the dishes.

"Interesting choice, Sakura-san. Those are the exact dishes that I gave Itachi-chan when he moved out of the house." Oh, Sakura thought, she was wondering why they looked so familiar. In her defense, she only chose them because they would complement the color of the spaghetti sauce.

Soon dinner was served and the two women emerged from the kitchen with arms full of pasta and sauce. As a precaution, Mikoto prepared rice as a side-dish in case they were dissatisfied with the meal. They sat amongst the table in designated seats, everyone but their guest. Instinctively, Sakura took the seat closest to Itachi and donned that her comfort zone.

"Itadakimasu," they chorused before beginning the meal. Soon the only sounds that could be heard were chopsticks hitting plates repeatedly. There wasn't really any small talk going on. Sakura soundlessly looked about the table to see Sasuke deeply engrossed in the meal, Itachi and Fugaku were eating modestly, and Mikoto ate silently with a smile on her face.

And Sakura found herself to be very correct; Uchiha's were very weird indeed.

"How is your training progressing, Sakura-san?" Fugaku asked after dinner. Mikoto had left with Itachi to prepare dessert.

"It's going good, I guess." She answered awkwardly. He quirked a brow.

"You guess? Either you know or you don't. Which is it?" asked, suddenly very stern.

"Uh," she looked to Sasuke for help. He was seemingly ignoring the conversation, eyes glued to a very interesting spot on the table. Sakura reminded herself to never look to him for anything ever again. "Yes?"

"Yes what?" his voice seemed to be getting louder. Sakura squirmed endlessly in her seat as she felt her face get hot with embarrassment.

"Yes I don't know?" how the heck did you please this man? Why couldn't he just accepted her original answer and leave it there.

"You don't know how your own training is going? What kind of answer is that?" Gods, he was doing it again. Sakura flinched back, frowning deeply at his expression.

"Uh I-"

"Quit stuttering, it's annoying." He sounded strangely like Sasuke just then.

"Dessert!" Mikoto her saving grace! Sakura released a pained breath of air as a plate of Hanami dango was set before her, courtesy of Itachi. Sakura gave him a grateful stare to which he ignored, fully focused on his favorite food. Wow, he really wasn't kidding.

It was actually kind of funny to see the usually stoic Itachi drool over something as silly as dango. Sakura had to fight a giggle probably just as hard as he had to fight the urge to suck the stick dry like a vacuum cleaner. Looking over at Sasuke, she noticed him glaring down at the small treat while Mikoto retained that small smile. Fugaku she didn't even want to remotely glance at.

Sooner than Sakura could've hoped, the Friday family dinner with the Uchiha's was over. Mikoto bid them goodbye, giving all three of them a quick hug. She sent Sakura home with the leftover dinner and dessert and whispered something about bribe material as she shoved the tubberware in her hands. Sakura made a note to thank the older woman one day.

Before they left, Fugaku made a serious comment about finishing their conversation, or interrogation, later which caught Itachi's attention. He hadn't known about the questions his father had been asking Sakura and had he been in the general area, the situation would've turned out different. All in all, Sakura blamed Itachi for not being in her comfort zone when she needed him to protect her from his father seeing as Sasuke sucked at it.

"Thanks for coming to my rescue tonight, Itachi." She sneered as they entered the home. Sasuke retreated to his bedroom with a silent wave, not wanting to be a part of what he assumed would be an argument.

"Hn." He grunted as he entered the kitchen to retrieve a bottle of water from the refrigerator. Sakura grumbled as she approached him, full of anger she had been holding in for a while. She wasn't exactly sure where it all came from but it was time to let it out.

"Why are you doing this? Asking me all those questions, bringing me home to your family. What are you trying to gain?" she asked. Itachi regarded her with a silent glance before answering.

"What makes you think I'm trying to gain something?" he asked. Sakura clicked her tongue in annoyance.

"Because! No one is this-this nice! This world is filled with evil people who only want to satisfy themselves." Was her reply.

"This is the image you have conjured up on your own. This is your perception of society. It is not reality." His only served to fuel her anger as she scoffed.

"And what world are you living in?"

"One that makes sense."

"Yeah well mine made sense until you walked in it. I was doing just fine until you decided to play good cop and grab up the hopeless street girl and 'convince' her to work for you." By now her hands were glued to her hips and shaking with rage. Itachi continued to stare at her, silently bewildered by her tirade.

"And being chased by shop owners for stealing is doing fine? That made sense to you?"

"It did." She was being stubborn.

"So what you're saying is being on the run from these 'evil people' makes more sense than me offering you a home, food, and a job." He affirmed.

"Yes! You have to have an ulterior motive of some kind!" she shouted. Itachi narrowed her eyes at her blind assumption of him.

"I don't take kindly to housing strangers which is my reasoning for wanting to get to know you. Secondly, I brought you to meet my family as a sign of trust." Sakura was taken aback.

"T-trust?" she asked. Her mind reverted back to the conversation she had with Mikoto in the kitchen. She thought it was silly for the older woman to say something like that, but having him say what he did just now…did he really trust her?

"If you wish to leave, then by all means do. Continue living life the way you have been. Maybe you'll get caught by some barbaric fool. Maybe we will meet again but let's hope for your sake we do not. People should get punished for their actions and I do not believe in second chances."

"But-" there he goes again, interrupting her.

"Don't categorize me with the rest of the world thinking I'm going to turn my back on you at any given moment." He said.

"I just-" twice now.

"You stopped trusting others, I know that. But for the time that we're going to be working with one another, I need you to trust me." He seemed to be finished.

"Itachi." All that anger seemed to have vanished.

"Sakura," he sighed. "Don't let the actions of those in the past prevent you from moving on." She glared at him. Easier said than done.

"Don't talk as if you know me!" and the anger returned.

"Don't give a response like that if you're not going to let me." He retorted. It seemed like no matter what she said he always had an answer, or a retort to jumble up all of her thoughts. There was no getting by him at all.

"There's a reason for that." She inwardly recoiled from him.

"And that reason is?" he edged her on. Sakura bit her lip.

"None of your concern." He sighed tiredly.

"The moment you agreed to work for me on this case was the moment you and everything about you became my concern, Sakura."

"I never asked for that. I never asked for any of it! Your crazy cousin, your ass of a brother, your overly happy mother, and certainly not your scary as hell father!" she shouted again.

"If that's the case, then leave. Go back your life that makes no sense. Keep running from the authorities. Go!" Itachi yelled. Sakura took a cautious step back. Itachi had never yelled in the week that she had known him. He never lost his cool. She gulped nervously and looked up into his narrowed dark eyes before replying, suddenly very scared.

"D-don't talk-!"

"As if I know you? I don't. So tell me about you. Tell me everything."

"I can't," she answered slowly. Her anger was slowly dwindling as was Itachi's as she watched his tense figure relax slightly. "I…it's a long story.

"It'll be a long night then."

"Itachi." She called, almost pleadingly.

"Sakura." He replied, unwavering. She sighed and left the kitchen area where she moved to the front room and took a seat on the couch. Itachi followed her, sitting down beside her.

"…Their names were Hiro and Shouko."

"Who?" he asked, almost in a whisper.

"My parents."

* * *

><p><strong>AN:** Longest chapter so far! 3,504 words and 9 pages! Wow, I didn't think it would be this long! I'm kind of proud of myself. Oh my gosh by golly this was so hard to write. Not because there was a ton of info to write but because I've been sick and not the good kind of sick either…not that there's a good sick but anyway! That's why this one came out later than my other ones. Also, I've began my online classes and I've been preoccupied with them. I graduated less than a month ago and I'm already back in school FML!

Anyway, I put Sai in there! Don't worry, his character will be developed further than just a phone call. Also the addition of Mikoto is nice isn't it? I love Mikoto even though we only saw her for a few episodes. And I simply couldn't resist shaking Sakura up with Fugaku's questions. Wasn't that entertaining? I think that's how I'd be if he ever asked me any questions, god forbid of course.

Thanks to: **KuRaI-BlOsSoM, LilMonsterLuvsYou, TeamTHEFT, Echo Uchiha, lilitachisama, neeme88, UnderTheNight, sakuraxitachi, Lady Lauren, Bazaargil1, Storms-winter, **and** Sped03. **I sincerely appreciate it. Lastly, I'm a little wary about the ItaSaku mini fight at the end. Ease my worries with constructive critics? I'd be eternally grateful. See you in chapter 9!


	9. Chapter 9

_**NEGLECT**_

It was a moderately hot day outside, but he didn't mind. He was just on his way to meet up with a few friends for lunch when he decided to pop in for a visit. Not the he really expected anyone to be home in the middle of the day, but it was worth a shot right? Besides, it had been so long since he saw any of them that he almost missed them.

So imagine his surprise when he walked up to the house to see that the front door was wide open for the whole world to see.

"What in the world…" he murmured as he cautiously walked through the door and into the seemingly empty home. It was eerily quiet aside from the sound of a TV he heard in the background. The house seemed to be in pretty decent shape. There were no broken items, no dispersed papers or anything to signal that someone had broken in. It just looked normal.

"Hello?" he called. "Is anyone home?" the sound of footsteps alerted his attention to the right where a small figure came into his vision.

"Kaka-niichan!" a little girl ran up to him and wrapped her tiny arms around his waist, burying her head in his lower abdomen. He was glad to see her, just a little upset about the circumstances.

"Sakura-chan," he answered. Kakashi knelt down to her eye level to see that she was alright. Her pink hair was styled into two pigtails and she was wearing a green sun dress. "Are you the only one here?"

"Yup! I'm a big girl Kaka-niichan! Tou-san said so!" Tou-san, eh? Kakashi narrowed his dark eyes as he sighed while his hands rested on her tiny shoulders, still wary of her. What kind of man leaves a six-year old alone at home in this day and age? It didn't make any sense.

"I see that. Are you hungry? How about I treat you to lunch?" He offered with a smile. Sakura's face visibly brightened at the proposal as she clasped her tiny hands together.

"Really? Ok!" she beamed. Kakashi stood and took her hand in his before they left the house, remembering to actually close the door behind him. He had a feeling it was going to be a very long day.

They soon arrived at the meeting area where his buddies all sat, waiting for him, drinks already in front of them. He was spotted a good distance away from the table before they called out to them.

"Yo! Kakashi! It's about time you got here, man." One of them said.

"Yeah Obito's usually the one that's late." Another joked. Kakashi could only laugh as he pulled up another chair, hoisted Sakura in it and scooted beside her.

"Awh, who's the cutie?"

_**IGNORANCE**_

"You're lucky I came by when I did, otherwise who knows what would've happened!" He shouted at the woman before him.

"Don't shout at me like that, Kakashi! You know I have to work." Was her reply.

"You never once thought of childcare? Or is that man you call a husband supposed to watch over her?" he was seething with anger now, very glad that Sakura was nowhere near them while they argued.

"Childcare is too expensive! Besides, he's her father. Who else is better suited to watch her? I still don't believe he would leave her like that..." She answered, shaking her head.

"Is that man really her father, Shouko? Open your eyes! The front door was wide open and Sakura was here all by herself. Someone idiot could've waltzed right in and taken her and you would've never known what happened!"

"What are you saying, Kakashi?" she asked, completely ignoring the fact that her daughter had been left alone for an odd amount of hours.

"I'm saying that you need to wake up. Get this idiot out of you and Sakura's lives before he seriously messes up." He replied.

"Don't speak of him like that! You don't know anything about him!"

"I know enough to say he's not good enough for you. You deserve better, Shouko. You and I both know that." She seemed to be contemplating his words.

"And who do I deserve? You?"

"Shouko…"

"Leave. Go before I say something that I regret." With that she turned her back to him. "Thank you for looking after Sakura." She replied.

"I'd do anything for her. And you too. Shouko, I just-"

"Go, Kakashi." She insisted, her voice breaking.

"At least let me say bye to Sakura."

"Fine." The silver haired man sighed as he brushed passed the red head and made his way to the back room where Sakura was seated at a small desk coloring with various crayons.

He glanced at her silently, standing at the threshold wearing a small smile. She was very precious to him even if he, himself, didn't understand why. Her smile, her laughter, it brought him unfathomable happiness and if he could be the cause of such emotions, well it made his day.

"Sakura-chan," he called gently, deciding to give the door a gentle knock. She looked up from her drawing and smiled at his appearance. There it was, those pearly whites with the missing tooth in the center.

"Kaka-niichan, look at what I drew." She ushered him over to her small table and encouraged him to sit down in the small pink chair beside her own. "See! There's me, you, kaa-san and tou-san."

"That's a very nice drawing Sakura-chan." He commented, awkwardly placed in the child sized seat.

"I wish you were my real niichan, Kaka-niichan. Then I'd get to see you all the time!" her little arms shot up in excitement. He was surprised by her statement for he had no idea she thought so highly of him. His eyes crinkled in delight as he ruffled her pink locks playfully.

"I'll always be with you Sakura-chan. Just call if you ever need me, okay?"

"Okay!"

_**ABUSE**_

It had been a seemingly quiet evening in the Haruno household. Sakura laid awake in her bed, her hands fiddling with her stuffed dog toy as she reveled in the silence. She sighed. Kaa-san had been acting really strange lately and she hadn't seen Tou-san in weeks. But that also meant that she got to spend a lot of time with Kaka-niichan.

He was really nice to her. He always gave her umeboshi and he had the funniest dogs. They licked her face all the time, which was kind of gross but she didn't mind. Kaka-niichan also didn't treat her like a child. He often gave her books to read and they always had the most interesting conversations. Sakura liked Kaka-niichan a lot. She hoped to see him again soon.

BAM!

Sakura jumped at the sound of the front door slamming and hurried footsteps stomping across the floor. Fear suddenly overcame her as she crawled underneath her covers, clutching the dog to her chest tightly, while listening for anymore sounds.

"Hiro? Are you drunk?" that was kaa-san. "What—Hiro that hurts! Where have you-" her voice abruptly cut off as the sound of broken glass hit young Sakura's ears. She bit her lip as more struggling noises occurred. She heard tou-san shouting and these weird noises that sounded like pounding. She held her breath when she heard footsteps coming closer to her bedroom.

"Sakura! Sakura, honey wake up!" The covers were pulled off and Sakura was met with the face of her mother. But it didn't look the same as it usually did. There was dark spots on her face and it looked bad.

"K-kaa-san? What happened? What's going on?" she asked, her voice trembling slightly at the sight of her distraught mother. "W-why are you bl-bleeding?"

Sakura didn't understand. What in the world was going on? Kaa-san was moving around the room, going through her drawers, grabbing clothes and stuffing them in a bag.

"Get out of the bed Sakura. We have to go." Her mother's voice was trembling and her hands couldn't stop shaking.

"Go? G-go where? Where's tou-san?" Sakura slowly crawled to the edge of the bed where she slid off, clutching the animal close to her chest again.

"Tou-san's not himself right now, he-"

"Shouko! Whereda hell are ya?" tou-san's voice sounded very strange. It was loud and scary. Little Sakura found herself cowering from behind her mother's leg as her lip trembled in fear. His heavy footsteps echoed throughout the house, pounding in rhythm with her heartbeat.

"Hurry Sakura, we don't have much time!" Kaa-san quickly strapped Sakura's bag onto her shoulders before taking her by the hand and leading her out of the bedroom. All the lights were off making the house completely dark. Sakura held onto her mother's hand like a life line as they moved about the house making it to the front room. She knelt before her and expertly put on Sakura's shoes then hurriedly put on her own before she was roughly pulled back.

"Ah!" she shouted, hands scrambling to the hand that harshly gripped strands of her long red hair.

"Kaa-san! Tou-san let her go!" Sakura shouted, tears sprouting in her eyes at seeing her mother in such pain and her precious tou-san in such a frightful state.

"Sakura stay back, honey!" her mother warned.

"I jus' wanna talk, Shouko." The man sounded downright pitiful. "Butcha' never listen, do ya? You never listen!"

"Ngh! I'm listening, Hiro! Please!" He tugged harder, making tears stream down the woman's face, Sakura not missing a thing.

"Shut up! I'm sicka listenin' to ya! Just shut the hell up!" with that, he threw her to the side, glaring down her menacingly before his attention was turned towards the pink haired girl who pounded into his thigh with her tiny fist, angry tears running down her chubby face.

"Stop it tou-san! Tou-san's not 'posed to hurt kaa-san! It's not right! Say you're sorry!" she cried painfully, hiccupping as she hit him. Hiro halted in his actions as he stared down at the disheveled girl.

"Sakura…" he whispered. He cupped her damp chin in his calloused hand, seemingly wiping away her tears. His calm state didn't last as he violently gripped the girl's cheek and tossed her aside like a rag doll. Sakura fell to the floor with a hard thud, her tiny body bruising in the process.

"Sakura!" Shouko shouted, immediately crawling over to the girl, worried out of her mind. But Hiro stood in her way.

"The girl'snot even mine! Been takin' care o'that pink haired freak ever since you got knocked up by that punk! Wha'his name? Kakashi?" he shouted, blind fury racing his brown eyes.

"Kaka-niichan…" Sakura murmured, her cheek parallel to the cold floor beneath her. Everything hurt, especially her head but mostly her heart. There was an indescribable throbbing in her chest that pained her. Her vision was blurry; she could vaguely make out the shape of her parents.

Hiro was standing over a quivering Shouko, shouting obscenities while the latter coward beneath him, dodging as many blows from the man as her body allowed her.

"Don't you touch her you-you dirty bastard!" Shouko finally retaliated and lunged at the man, her hands at his throat. In his drunken state, he could only stare with wide eyes as his so-called wife straddled him, continuously banging his head against the hard floor until he began to see spots.

Why was tou-san acting this way? Where was her tou-san? The one that brought her candy and told her funny stories? The one that helped her fight the monsters under the bed and always knew where the best hiding places were? This wasn't her tou-san. He couldn't be.

"No…" she murmured. The only thing she was could do was watch. Watch her parents fight. Watch as Hiro pushed Shouko off and proceeded to copy her previous position resorting to slapping rather than strangling.

"No…" she managed to get herself into a fetal position, squeezing the dog until her knuckles turned white. She wasn't sure how much more of the violence her heart could take, tears now in a steady flow. But what could she do? What wasn't a big girl like tou-san said. She was little and couldn't do anything.

She needed help.

"_I'll always be with you Sakura-chan. Just call if you ever need me, okay?"_

"Kaka-niichan…" it was soft at first but her cries soon escalated as the reality of the situation began to hit home. "Kaka-niichan…!"

"Sakura," her mother muttered in between the hits from her attacker.

"Kaka-niichan! Where are you?" her shouts reached the eyes of Hiro, who paused in mid action to stare at the bawling child.

"Oi! Shut the hell up brat! Don't call for him!" but it was no use. She continued to cry, despite the figure looming over her. She was unaware of the threatening aura emitting from the man as he advanced on her silently. Shouko's eyes widened in horror as she struggled to get on her feet, in order to stop his attack.

"Hiro no!" her cries went unheard as he raised his heavy arm.

"I said shut up!"

"Hiro!"

* * *

><p>"I don't remember much after that. I woke up in the hospital and Kakashi was in my room. He explained the situation as best as he could to me, a six year old, but all I wanted was my life back."<p>

"What became of your parents?" Itachi asked. Sakura regarded him with a hardened glance before her gaze returned to the floor below. She let out a long sigh before continuing.

"I tried living with my mother again. We moved to a small apart in the northern part of the city. Things were going fine until Hiro showed up again. He said he was sorry and that he had changed. It wasn't long before he had gone back to his old ways. And of course, he could do no wrong in my mother's eyes and she took him back. As they say, history repeats itself and I found myself living with Kakashi until I was turned nine."

"What happened then?" He asked.

"I became the states problem then. Kakashi couldn't keep control of me. Had I known then what I know now, I wouldn't have been such a burden on him but I was angry. I refused to acknowledge all the problems going on around me. Instead of facing them, I ignored them and turned into an angry child. They put me in an orphanage since I didn't have any living relatives. That's where I met Naruto. His parents died before he was born.

"In a short amount of time, we became really good friends. He was an outlet for my anger. Unfortunately I had inherited Hiro's violent tendacies, but Naruto didn't mind. Eventually, we found ourselves getting into a lot of trouble and ended up in juvie many times. We dropped out of high school last year and the streets became our home. We had a scam going on for a little while. I'd be the distraction and he'd make off with the goods. Life wasn't great, but we managed."

"And now?"

"Now?" she repeated it. Her brows furrowed as she considered the question. Telling Itachi about her life made her realize something. That maybe her life didn't make as much sense as she thought it did. She just proved herself to be a victim of her circumstances. A child who suffered through neglect and abuse ends up a part of the system only to escape and fall into the ways of the streets. The streets lead her to the police where she begins working for a detective in training to replace the governor's daughter. What was life now?

"I…I don't know anymore."

* * *

><p><strong>AN:** Ugh! Another tough one. Three character intros this time. I love Kakashi, don't you? He seems like he'd be a big brother figure in this story. Also! He is NOT Sakura's father, just to clear things up before anyone starts asking.

Now! What became of Sakura's parents? I'll let you use your imagination. They're only in this story for the sake of this chapter…or are they? Where's Kakashi? That will be explained later. So don't worry Kakashi fans! He's still in there! So, pretty sad story huh? Hope I wasn't too vague with describing things. I've never had to do such an intense scene before. Let's just say it was pretty interesting. What happens next chapter? I have no idea…just kidding! But let's hope I can get it done soon as well as the chapter that follows it because I'm going to leaving next Wednesday and there will simply be no time to work on the story for an entire week.

Thanks to: **hts911, Karleta, Neko-chichi, SilverLynn, momoko09, Sped03, 7, TeamTHEFT, The Ghost of Insanity, Lady Lauren, brokenmaelstrom, **and** Aerit102. **Yay! We made it to 50 reviews! I like to re-read them from time to time. It's just unbelievable to me sometimes, but thanks to you all! I really appreciate it. See you in chapter 10!


	10. Chapter 10

"Lay another one on me old man." Naruto grumbled as he pushed away yet another bowl of ramen in hopes for his next. Teuchi grimaced at the boy's downtrodden expression as he dully traced the outline of the counter with his finger.

"You sure kid? You've had five bowls already…" Naruto pursed his lips and narrowed his eyes into slits before letting his head fall onto the countertop. He groaned as he clenched his fists and pounded said countertop. It was late, he knew that, but he couldn't stop himself from indulging in his favorite food in his time of distress.

Yes. Uzumaki Naruto was distressed.

"Come ji-chan! I haven't seen Sakura-chan in over a week!" he exclaimed. Usually the cook would scowl at the mere mention of her name but this time he chuckled lightly and resumed his ramen making causing Naruto to arch a brow.

"You know, she was in here a couple days ago." Naruto's head immediately shot up in alert. His hands slammed down on the counter and he raised his body in excitement.

"Sakura-chan? Here? But ji-chan, you said-"

"I know what I said but she owned up to her mistakes and apologized." He explained. At that, Naruto fell back onto the stool with an astonished look on his face. "She's a good kid underneath all that anger."

"Huh…was she with someone?" he asked.

"Ah yes, a regular customer actually. I think you know him. He usually orders two beef, one with tomato." Teuchi answered.

"…Oh yeah! Can't forget a weird order like tomato. Did she look like she was okay?" the boy asked, his brows furrowed in worry.

"She looked fine from what I could tell. Don't sweat it kid, I'm sure everything will work out." With that, Teuchi placed another steaming bowl of ramen in front of the boy giving him an encouraging grin. Naruto nodded in gratitude and quickly delved into the bowl, ignoring the dinging sound of someone entering the shop.

"Hey! What can I get for you tonight?" Teuchi asked.

"I'm actually looking for someone." At the sound of that sickeningly proper voice, Naruto cringed and immediately throw his navy hood over his head, cowering down in his seat.

"Well if you describe the person for me I might be able to lead you in the right direction." He replied.

"Shh! Don't blow my cover old man!" Naruto whispered.

"He is a blonde about my height with a permanent idiotic expression on his face. He is also quite dickl-"

"Shut the hell up you bastard!" Naruto shot up from his seat and immediately approached the pale stranger who merely smiled creepily at him.

"Ah, Naruto-kun. I was hoping I'd see you here." Sai said. Naruto growled at the fact that he had blown his cover. He crossed his arms over his chest and glared at the boy.

"Yeah and what do you want?" the blonde sneered.

"If you don't mind, could we take this conversation outside?" Naruto arched a brow, looked back at the old man, and sighed before following the boy out.

"All right, what do you want?" he asked, stuffing his hands stubbornly in his pockets. Sai merely continued to smile while Naruto's left eye twitched at the boy's content expression. Now Naruto was typically a jovial person who tried to get along with everyone.

Sai was a special case.

"Right to the point, just like Sakura-san." He mused. Naruto cringed and approached him with a dangerous aura emitted from his person.

"What about Sakura-chan?" he asked. His hand was itching to grab the boy by collar in a threatening manner, already ticked off by his earlier comments. Sai just doesn't know when to stop.

"Nothing. I was merely stating a similarity between you two. Speaking of Sakura-san, do you know her whereabouts?" he asked.

"No. And if I did I sure as hell wouldn't tell you." He spat. Sai regarded him lightly as his smile melted away and was replaced with confusion. He averted his gaze downward to the pavement below, crossing his arms over his chest.

"That is unfortunately. You see the job I described to you requires her presence." He explained. Naruto snorted.

"Yeah well, where ever she is, she's gonna be gone for the whole month. So you'll just have to settle for me all right?" he grumbled, crossing his arms as well. Sai chuckled slightly.

"All right then Naruto-kun. There will be a meeting next Tuesday in the basement of the old abandoned government building just passed the city limits, heading north. Make sure you are present."

"Yeah, yeah. I'll be there. Are you done?" he asked, becoming quite irritated with the boy.

"Yes. Have a nice evening." With that, Sai took off down the sidewalk in steady strides while Naruto retreated back to the ramen stand, taking his former seat and frowning at the no longing steaming bowl of noodles.

"I've seen that kid around here before. I don't like the vibes he gives off." Teuchi remarked as he wiped clean a bowl before setting it down and giving his attention to the boy in front of him.

"Sai's an ass who doesn't know how to be a person." He explained.

"What?" the older man was confused.

"He doesn't know that calling someone fat because they look fat is a bad thing." He went a step further.

"How can he not-"

"Like I said, he's an ass." Naruto shrugged. He brought the bowl up to his lips with both hands and slurped the remaining broth before exhaling deeply and sitting the bowl back down on the counter.

"You done for the night?" Teuchi asked as he took the bowl and prepared to wash it. Naruto gave it some thought before he sighed, reaching in his short pockets for his wallet.

"Yeah," he put some money on the counter before he slid off the stool and made his way to the door. "Thanks for the meal old man."

Naruto strode down the quiet streets of Konoha with a thoughtful frown marring his features. It was around ten when he finally reached the place he and Sakura called home for the past year and a half. It was a shabby apartment not too far from the ramen stand that they happened upon on accident.

Rent wasn't so bad and thanks to Sakura's threatening negotiation skills, they were able to stay there without too much difficulty. There was one bedroom, one kitchen with a fridge, one bathroom and a working dryer. They didn't mind doing the washing in the sink.

Naruto sighed as he entered, kicking off his shoes and plopping down on the old brown couch. The carpet was dingy beige matching the white washed walls and a white ceiling. There were various stains that littered both the ceiling and the walls that neither one of them cared to examine. The apartment itself was run down and they had to supply everything but the fridge and the dryer. He couldn't recall the many stores he and Sakura had hit up in search of household items. Like the TV that sat before him. Looking back, he could only laugh.

They had decided the night before that they needed a TV and didn't have nearly enough money to buy one. Sakura, being the mastermind behind all their schemes, came up with a flawless plan that was to be executed the next day. They had been monitoring the electronic stores activity for quite some time and discovered the trunk carrying the back stock came every other Thursday.

Sakura would distract the driver with her irresistible flirtatious ways while Naruto would sneak to the back of the truck, recklessly subdue any workers that happened to be passing by, and make off with the goods. It was flawless in every sense of the word. Of course, using the method was practical for stealing TV's but acquiring furniture was a totally different method. Garage sales were right up their alley. Sakura would haggle for a decent price and Naruto would provide backup in case any guy decided to take advantage of her.

They were a flawless team.

But now, Naruto found he could do close to nothing without his partner in crime, literally. She was the brains and beauty and he was the brawn. They were like yin and yang! Day and night. You couldn't have Sakura without Naruto. He barely made it through a week without her, he didn't want to think about how the month was going to be.

"Oh Sakura-chan…"

* * *

><p>Sakura awoke the next morning, early Saturday, feeling better than she had in months. Ruffling her pinks locks a bit, she sighed while bringing her legs to edge of the bed and standing up. She stretched a bit before mulling over the events that took place the night before. She hadn't expected her and Itachi to have the spat that they did. She also didn't expect to tell him everything or for him to listen. It was…kind of comforting.<p>

But she scoffed and quickly made her way to the bathroom where she hoped in the shower for the day. Stepping into the steaming hot water, she deposited a generous amount of generic shampoo into her hands before lathering her hair instant suds, standing beneath the showerhead. For a moment, she just stood there, letting the water roll of her shoulders and down the rest of her body. For once, her mind was clear of all thoughts, of all worries, and the only thing she was concerned about was the hot water running out, but it wouldn't be the first time.

She had a hard life, as much as she hated to admit it, but it seemed to be finally looking up if only for five days. Granted, they weren't an easy five days and she definitely had the bruises to prove it, whether they were from Chiyo or Shisui, she couldn't tell. She just knew that in the end she'd feel some kind of accomplishment.

With that, she turned off the water and stepped out, wrapping a dark fluffy towel around her person before placing another towel around her head to dry her hair. She sighed as she approached the fogged up mirror and wiped it clean with a swipe of her hand. She brushed her teeth, washed her face and stepped out of the bathroom and sat on the bed, towel drying her hair.

"I wonder what we're doing today…" she commented to herself as she dug through the duffel bag, only it looked vacant. A little too vacant.

Sakura began to panic as she rumbled around in the bag, finding that it was empty, aside from dirty, sweaty training outfits.

"What the…"

"Sakura," she heard the sound of Itachi's voice from the other side of the door. She approached with caution, one hand secured around the top of her towel while the other held the doorknob.

"Yeah?" she answered.

"All of your clothes have been hung and placed in the drawers for convenience." He said. Sakura breathed a sigh of relief. She was beginning to think someone had played an awful trick on her.

"Uh, thanks." She replied.

"Also, you have tea with Midori-sama today so you may want to dress appropriately. One of the dresses in the closet will do nicely." He explained. Tea with the princess? When was this decided?

'_Oh that's right! I have to meet with her once a week to get down her mannerisms and what not…great…'_

"Fine." She sighed.

"You may want to hurry, we leave in an hour." An hour? But her hair wouldn't dry in an hour, especially without a hair dryer. She nibbled on her bottom lip apprehensively. Would Itachi own a hair dryer? His hair was so long and silky looking that it would be nearly impossible for him not to own one. But would he loan it to her…well, she was staying in his house. But a hairdryer is much more personal.

"Itachi!" she cursed herself for shouting so loudly, but she wanted to be heard. She even went as far as opening the door to peer out into the hallway, her head sticking out oddly. He turned around to face her, dressed in a simple v-neck black shirt and plaid grey pajamas pants. It looked strange to see the usually formal Itachi dressed so laid back-ish.

"Yes?" he answered simply.

"You wouldn't happen a have a hairdryer would you?" she asked quietly. It was then that Itachi noticed her damp, curly pink locks hanging limply from her scalp in wavy strands. He gave her a scrutinizing glance as if contemplating the idea and he truly was.

Did he truly want to lend this girl his most prized hairdryer? Why, he'd be picking pink strands out of the comb for weeks! Even though it was unlikely that she'd blow it out, she'd probably end up using it longer than he ever would since her hair was longer. And did he mention the pink strands? There was only one thing he could do.

"I'm sure Sasuke wouldn't mind you borrowing his." He inwardly smirked at the thought. Yes, she could use Sasuke's hairdryer. From the way the boy usually walked around with his hair disarray and what not, it was obvious he didn't care for his locks like Itachi did. The hairdryer was probably neglected on a regular basis. Yes, it was an excellent idea.

"Ok, I'll ask him then." With that, Sakura retreated back in the guestroom to get dressed. Letting out a small sigh of relief, Sakura trudged over to the sliding closet and was met with a row of simple dresses. There were long ones and short ones of various different colors and for the first time in a long time, Sakura found herself unable to chose one. She never had a problem with picking out clothes. She'd wear whatever she had, as long as it fit and was clean.

"I guess this'll do." She shrugged, her hand wrapping around the wooden hanger that held a white dress with blue flowers stitched all around with a bow sewed on the side. Situated below the dresses was an assortment of shoes. She chose a pair of white slipper-like shoes and was about to step out of the closet when her eyes caught sight of various handbags on the top shelf in the closet. She had never been one to carry a purse, but she supposed this was a proper occasion to do so.

Sakura dressed quickly, noting at her still wet hair. She placed a towel over her shoulders to keep the dress from getting wet. She opened up her door and walked down the hallway to Sasuke's room. As she prepared herself to knock, she noticed that his door was open. She blinked lightly, looked up and down the hallway before shrugging and entering the room. It was surprisingly clean. The bed was made, there were no clothes on the floor, the dresser was bare save for a simple alarm clock. It didn't even look like a teenage boy's bedroom.

"Hmm, now to find that hairdryer," it was more of a thought to herself as she walked about the room, searching.

"What are you doing in here?" his still voice startled her. Sakura jumped at turned around to face him with a slightly nervous expression.

"Uh, I was hoping to borrow your hairdryer?" she asked cautiously. Sasuke arched a brow as he fully stepped into the room with his arms crossed over his chest.

"Why mine? Go borrow Itachi's." he commanded. Sakura frowned at him, mocking his stance.

"Itachi said to ask you." Was her reply. He looked taken aback before a scowl came across his features.

"Figures he'd tell you something like that." Sasuke rolled his eyes and brushed passed her, into his own private bathroom. He emerged with a simple, black, hair dryer with the cord wrapped around the handle. He extended it out to her, but a kept a firm grip on it once she reached her hand out to grasp it.

"Don't get any of your hair stuck in the comb. And keep it on a medium heat." He said, finally letting go. Sakura held it in her hands and nodded.

"Thanks Sasuke." She replied with a small smile.

"Hn."

"…what does that even mean?" she asked, adjusting the towel. He rolled his eyes.

"Whatever you want it to mean. Do you need anything else?" he was obviously uncomfortable with her using his blow dryer and Sakura felt the need to entertain herself. She smirked.

"You don't like me, do you?" she asked, mirth dancing in her green eyes. He sighed heavily.

"I never said-"

"Oh no, it's fine if you don't. I really don't care. Thanks again for the hair dryer." And with that Sakura gave the boy a devious smile before she left the room. Sasuke plopped down on his bed and could only smirk in response. She certainly was interesting.

Sakura soon found herself back in the guestroom's bathroom, blow drying her hair in the mirror. She sighed as she did it, thoughts flying to her tea session with the governor's daughter. Her mind wondered just how this girl was going to act. If she was a stuck up princess, a dainty pain in the butt, a quiet goody-goody, or just plain normal. She couldn't help but feel nervous. What if she didn't measure up to the governor's expectations? It was one thing to look like the girl, she had to act like her too.

"I hope this works out."

* * *

><p><strong>AN: **I'm later than I usually am. Which I can explain! See while I was away, I had limited access to the internet and I was unable to update. I apologize! I didn't mean for it to take so long. But anyway, it's here now so…yeah! Moving on!

Naruto has reappeared after his second appearance in chapter 5. Don't worry, his role in this story will be explained further. Sai's role as well. And don't you just love Teuchi? He kind of reminds me of Brock from pokemon. They can both cook and they both have those weird squinty eyes. And who knew Itachi was possessive over a hair dryer of all things. It's hilarious, ne? Next chapter we'll finally meet Midori! I'll let you make your own assumptions on how she's going to be.

Thanks go to: **Aerith102, Sped03, always-kh, Xx4ying4yangxX, kurohime1024, 22keng28, Orijinaru Al, Akatsuki Sakura Uchiha, whitefang245, javelin seer, yammy23, Team THEFT, Lady Lauren, firefox just went emo, DarkAngel2412, Echo Uchiha, missmn28, .Imagination, VeelaSophia, lovelyisu, YukoxxxIchikawa, VampireTwin234, Spannlica, Horseluver15, **and** Cassa-di-di-loves NaruHina.** That's the biggest turn out yet! I think last chapter was the most popular. I really hope this one wasn't a letdown. Please continue to support this story!


	11. Chapter 11

Itachi couldn't recall the last time he had felt utterly and refutably nervous. He was Uchiha friggin' Itachi. His name and nervous didn't even remotely belong in the same sentence. But he deduced, in that oh so intelligent mind of his, that this sinking feeling developing in his lower abdomen was not indigestion, no it was nerves. Pure, untainted and seriously loathed nerves.

But could he be blamed for the way felt? This was Sakura and although she had improved greatly during her stay of five days, she was still very rough around the edges and meeting such an important figure like the governor and his daughter was unnerving, to say the least. She wasn't half way through her etiquette lessons and she still looked awkward in every piece of fine clothing she placed on her person. But he had faith, he had to have it, that she'd pull through.

They just needed to get through today.

"So what's this girl like?" she asked, picking at her bitten fingernails. Itachi sighed, his hands gripping the steering wheel rather tightly.

"I advise you to call her Midori-sama when in her presence." He replied. Sakura scoffed as she played with her seatbelt, shifting uncomfortably in the dress she was wearing.

"I know that but while we're in the comfort of this vehicle and away from her majesty's ears, I'll call whatever I want to. Is that all right with you?" she turned to see his right eye twitching rather comically. She had to hold back a laugh, instead she chose to twirl a lock of her hair that was neatly held back by a nice white hand band, courtesy of Shizune.

"Sakura," he warned.

"All right. What's…what _is_ Midori-sama like?" she flinched away from his evil glare at her continued use of contractions. He was a tad bit scarier than Chiyo and Sakura would only admit in her mind that she was mildly afraid of him. Especially after his miniscule blowup at her the night before. She never wished to be on the receiving end of his rare fits of anger.

"Hn. You will see." And that was all. Sakura bit her lip hand and gripped the expensive leather seats to control her anger long enough for them to pull up to the governor's manor. It was a gated property, probably around four acres. Itachi pulled up to a speaker like device and pressed the red button situated on it.

"Name." a voice called.

"Uchiha Itachi."

"Purpose." It called again.

"Tea with Midori-sama."

"…" there was a pause. "Welcome Uchiha Itachi." With that, the gates opened and they drove up the driveway and to the house. Sakura sucked in a breath at the sight. They actually had shrubs and bushes that were shaped like things.

"I thought those were only in the movies…" she muttered to herself. Itachi mused slightly at her awestruck expression as he stopped the car. He sighed, tossing the keys in his pocket.

"Do not be alarmed Sakura." He said. Said girl arched an eyebrow at his statement as she opened the door and stepped out onto the smooth pavement below. Even the ground looked fancy. She smiled at the sight before a shrill scream knocked her out of her stare.

"Kya!" she had to flinch. Suddenly the click-clack of heels alerted her to a dangerously approaching figure. Looking over at Itachi, she noticed his form was scarily stiff, his eyes honed in on something in the distance.

"Wha…" she murmured until a blur of pink and green zoomed past, knocking right into the stiff Uchiha.

"Itachi-kun! It's been so long!" a sickeningly high voice called. Sakura's eyes caught sight of a five foot six girl with her slender arms wrapped tightly around Itachi's neck, much to his obvious discomfort. But Sakura wasn't paying as much attention to Itachi's expression as she was to the girl latched onto him like a second skin.

It was one thing to see a picture of her, but to see her in person was a shocker. It was like they were twins! Like, long lost, freakish movie twins!

"Whoa…" she gasped, snapping the girl out of her lost gaze into the stoic man's twitching black eyes.

"It is nice to see you again, Midori-sama." He finally replied.

"My apologies, Itachi-kun. I do not know what came over me." With that, she finally released her grip from around his neck and fell back on her steady feet. She switched her gaze to the other pinkette and her green eyes widened in shock.

"Oh my word. You said there were similarities but this is…this is uncanny. Tell me, where did you find such a girl?" Midori asked as she circled Sakura like she was an exhibit at an art gallery. Sakura clenched her teeth tightly as well as her fist.

"We bumped into each on the street." He explained. Ah, he left out part of the story. Sakura let a ghost of a smile appear on her features before her eyes once again fell on the girl standing before her, wearing a pale green, high collared dress with short white frilly gloves. The dress came to the tips of her knees. Her skin was regally pale and she gave Sakura an analytic smile, holding at her dainty hand.

"It is nice to meet you. My name is Ohayashi Midori."

"Haruno Sakura."

"Such a lovely name, it certainly is fitting." The proper girl mused. "Well, let us not stand out here any longer than we must. Please join me inside for tea."

The inside of the house was even more astounding than the decorative shrubbery out on the front lawn, sparkling water fountain included. Upon entering the large doors of the estate, Sakura was met with a grand staircase that led up to the second story of the house. Hanging from the ceiling was a beautiful white gold chandelier with little sections of glass hanging down from it. The floor was a clean marble and the staircase was covered in lush red carpet. And that was just the front room.

"My father, the governor, is currently away on business so it is just the maids and myself here today." She explained as they sat down at a white table cloth covered table decorated with the finest China. There was a tray of neatly cut finger sandwichesr and other little finger foods that caught Sakura's attention.

"That is fine. How have you been?" Itachi asked as he applied secret amounts of sugar into his tea. No seems to notice, nor count, the many times he dipped into the sugar.

"I have been well. Although, it has been rather hard to sleep at night knowing that someone is targeting you." She replied, sipping daintily from her cup.

"I see." Itachi replied. Sakura stirred in her tea silently before bringing it up to her mouth to taste, recalling how Chiyo hand instructed her to do so. Pinky in! She could her the old woman now.

"So, Haruno-san, you are here to learn about my personality, yes?" she asked. Sakura sat down her cup.

"Yes, that is true." Before she could blink a large sized binder was put on top of the table sat before the younger pinkette.

"This holds all of my personal information from the number scars I have down to my allergies. If you wish to copy me, you must know me." Midori looked at the girl through suddenly very serious green eyes. Sakura thickly swallowed her saliva before placing a nearly shaky hand on the book to view its contents. Just as she had lifted the side of the binder, Itachi's hand reached out to stop her.

"Would it not be more efficient for you to tell her about yourself, Midori-sama?" He suggested. Sakura stared at him through surprised eyes before her gaze switched to the dainty lady sitting before them. She looked a little unsettled by his suggested, feigning contentment.

"Why, Itachi-kun, what would make you say such a thing?" she asked, her voice was beginning to lack that sweet tone that she happened to carry.

"Your life is very complex and Sakura has a little less than a month to emulate 21 years of it. There simply will not be enough time to do so just by reading. It would help if she had your direct assistance." He was standing up for her. Maybe it was so he wouldn't have to hear her gripe about having to read the princess's life story but he was defending her nonetheless.

"She is a trained professional, is she not? Reading should not be that taxing or time consuming for someone instructed with the task of protecting the governor's daughter. Someone hired from Konoha's own police force at that. I believed she could handle it, but please correct me if I'm wrong." So the princess could hold her own against Itachi, eh? Sakura just developed a new form of respect for her.

"It is fine, Itachi." She stopped him from replying. To her, she had been entrusted with copying this girl and she'd do everything in her power to make sure she did it to the best of her abilities. It was more than just a way to get money and stay out of trouble. She felt like she had to prove herself to this Sakura look-a-like. "I am sure Midori-sama has a very interesting life. I shall enjoy reading and learning about it."

"Splendid! Now that we have settled that, can you tell me a bit about yourself Haruno-san?" she asked.

Oh crap…

"It certainly was nice meeting you Haruno-san. I look forward to our next tea." Midori bowed politely as Sakura and Itachi took their leave.

"Likewise. Thank you for your hospitality Midori-sama." Sakura returned the gesture before Itachi led them back to the car.

Once situated with their seatbelts buckled, both let out a deep sigh of relief simultaneously. Sakura looked up to see Itachi with a relaxed expression and for some reason it gave her a sense of happiness to know that he was just as concerned about today's tea as she was.

"That went well, surprisingly." He commented once they were on the road.

"What makes you say that?" she arched a brow at him.

"Nothing. You did well." He smiled at her. Sakura's breath hitched in her throat. And what's this? Heat…rising…no! She was not blushing. She would not, could not be blushing! And at Itachi of all people. She abruptly turned to face the window refusing to give him to satisfaction of having made her blush, although he probably wouldn't care all that much, but still.

Her hands were clenched tightly in her lap as they drove on. At the sudden silence, Itachi spared her glance to see that she had turned away from him and was staring at the window. He looked down to see her hands gripping the dress so tightly that her already pale knuckles were quickly turning white with pressure. He arched a brow at the tenseness of her body.

Sakura still had her face turned away as she averted her gaze downward, before gazing at him in such a way so that he couldn't see her staring. Unbeknownst to her, he was looking at her the exact same way.

'_I wonder she's thinking about…'_ he said to himself. But Itachi was slowly surprising himself. He wasn't going to lie, he was beginning to care for the girl. But he was confused. It was entirely different from how he cared for Sasuke which was how he predicted their relationship would turn out to be like. He tortured Sasuke, reveled in his discomfort and rage, it was one of his sick pleasures. He just couldn't imagine putting Sakura through that, though. Maybe this is what it would be like to have a sister…

No…this was something not even close to that.

'_I wonder what he's thinking about…'_ Sakura bit her lip in apprehension as it seemed her heated blush was finally beginning to simmer down. She was raking her brain trying to figure just how and why Itachi had made her blush. It was…it was strange and a bit unnerving. Her relationship with Itachi was nothing like she had ever had before. Different from her companionship with Naruto, although he was just now starting to grow out of that stage where he thought he loved her. Different from the sibling like connection with Kakashi. But it was something unique, she knew that much.

Something special.

**A/N:** Okay! So I'm tremendously late and apologize. I got lazy and didn't really feel like writing. I have no excuse that's just how I get sometimes, plus I had to write for my English class. But luckily, summer classes have now ended and I can spend my days writing for this story until it isfinished! Haha!

All right! In this chapter we get to meet Midori-sama! What do you guys think? She's totally got the hots for our Ita-kun, ain't it grand? But she has a rather serious side. I kind of like her. Moving on, so Sakura and Itachi are finally beginning to assess their relationship and how things are progressing. Is it brother-sister? Just friends? Or is it something more than that? Just a bit of exposition to get your brains working here: Neither has been in a serious romantic relationship. Everything's been platonic (Itachi) and chaotic (Sakura). So there! That's all I'm giving you.

Thanks go to: **Akatsuki Sakura Uchiha, Kaydreams, Living Nemesis, Vampy Kitten, Echo Uchiha, Isabela Highwind, weasel-cheater, TeamTHEFT, Nicaaa, fallaleryn, KonanxPein4eva, blackcat8794, seleneswan, **and** cherrys-and-strawberrys. **Thanks a bundle, you guys are freaking awesome.

And now since I made you wait because of my laziness here's a bonus chapter!

Chapter 11.5

"Ugh! I feel like crap!" Sakura groaned as she rolled out of bed. She ambled her way to the bathroom in slow strides, not in any particular hurry. Once there, she braced herself against the sink, gazing at her reflection through drained green eyes. It was strange, she got at least eight hours of sleep and she ate a hearty dinner last night she even had three helpings of rice, much to her surprise.

"….!" She gasped running for the toilet.

'_God no! God no! God no!'_ she screamed in her head.

"Oh crap!" her shriek was muffled by the sound of the toilet flushing. She quickly hopped in the shower, cleansing herself, before quickly getting dressed in the best comfort clothes she could find: sweats and a t-shirt. She threw her wet pinks locks up in a messy bun, not bothering with blow drying it this time. Satisfied with her look, Sakura left her bedroom but froze.

She was in quite the predicament and didn't know how to approach it. Life would be ten times easier if she were living with Shizune or Rin but seeing as she was stuck in a house with two males it wasn't. No matter how she approached the situation, it was bound to be awkward. She sighed.

'_No! I can do this! I'm not twelve, this is no big deal! They're mature, I'm sure they can handle this, it's-'_

"Oi, you're in the way." Came the voice of Sasuke. She turned to see him standing behind her with the permanent irritated look on his face.

"Sasuke!" she exclaimed with a nervous laugh. "Hey listen, I need you to do me a favor."

"No." with that, he walked around her and towards his bedroom leaving her gaping like a fish out of water.

"What? But you haven't even heard what it is!" she complained.

"I don't need to. The last time I did you a favor, I lost my hair dryer." He glared at her.

"You don't even need it!" she pointed a stiff finger at him, coming to stand directly in front of him.

"Oh and you do? Yeah I can see you're making good use of it." He smirked, picking up a lock of her wet hair. She jerked herself away, scowling at him.

"Tch. Look, just do me this one favor and I'll never bother you again."

"Like I haven't heard that before." He rolled his eyes. Sakura sighed, biting her lip in anxiety at the sudden pain that developed in her lower abdomen. There wasn't much time left and she couldn't be wasting it arguing with Sasuke. But she'd rather it be him than Itachi, Gods he'd just make it ten times more awkward. So she decided to play a different card.

"I know you don't like me." She began with a sad sigh causing him to raise a brow at her. "But it's important a-and I feel like you're the only one I can turn to." She said stepping closer to him.

"Nii-san is here." He replied. Sakura responded by tracing her hand down his arm. He tensed underneath her hold causing her to inwardly smirk.

"Itachi wouldn't understand…" she often used this ploy to haggle prices with Naruto. It worked like a charm every time. She was cheering in her head when he took her hand and held it in his own. He raised it to his lowered head and prepared to kiss it before he sending her a mischievous glance.

"Nice try…Sakura." With that, he dropped her hand and continued his stroll down to his room making sure to give a devilish smirk before shutting the door. She gaped again before stomping her foot down in frustration.

"You…! You jerk!" she yelled down the hall before turning on her heel only to run face first into Itachi. He gazed down on her curiously as she took a few steps backward just for good measure. Standing close to Sasuke she could do. Standing close to Itachi? For some reason she found that rather difficult. Just like she knew this upcoming conversation was going to be.

"What were you and otouto talking about?" he asked. Straight to the point, that's just how he was. Sakura nervously scratched her arm before looking up at him.

"Uh, it was nothing. I just needed something…" she averted her gaze to side, inwardly cringing at her stomach pains.

"Oh? What did you need?" he was prying! Sakura grimaced, refusing to come right out and say what she needed.

"I needed t-to go to the store." She replied.

"For what?"

"Just…some stuff."

"Stuff that is…?" he was beginning to get impatient.

"Stuff that's important."

"Important?"

"Yes."

"I see."

"…So can I go?" she asked, suddenly very hopeful. He arched a brow before giving her a teasing smile.

"Yes. We can go right now."

"We?"

"Yes, we. You don't really expect me to leave you to go alone do you?"

"I'm a big girl Itachi." She frowned.

"With a history in thievery." She growled at that. "If it's that important you shouldn't have a problem with me going with you. Unless you plan on doing something wrong." He glared.

"No! It's nothing like that and has nothing to do with you so you don't need to go!" she snapped.

"We've been over this. If it has to do with you then it has to do with me."

"Ugh! This _really_ has nothing to with you!" she shouted.

"What is so important that you feel you must keep it from me?"

"I need tampons, okay! Tampons, midol, aspirin and other feminine products that _girls_ need for survival! Excuse me for thinking that had nothing to with you!" there was silence.

"…"

"So can I go now?"

"Do as you wish." With that, Itachi was gone faster than you could say awkward. Sakura sighed in relief as she rushed towards the door. Swinging it open, she came face to face with a grinning Shisui.

"Ohayo—whoa where are you going?" he grabbed her by the arm.

"…!"

"Ow! Itachi, she hit me again!"

"You really deserved it this time."

See you in chapter 12!


	12. Chapter 12

_Earth. The ground below that humans inhabit on a regular basis. It provides growth and food, the basis for human living. Yet, Naruto always wondered why it hurt so much when he hit it._

"_Heh, freak that's where you belong!" one of those annoyingly snide children mocked as he shoved poor Naruto to the ground for the umpteenth time that week. He was one of those teacher pet type orphans that sucked up to the director and felt the need to bully the other kids._

"_Tch, bring it on!" Naruto grinned widely while wiping the dirt off his face as he lunged at the boy, knocking him to the ground. For once he was kind of grateful for how hard it was. They rustled and tumbled around the backyard, getting in the way of the other children's activities._

_But Naruto didn't care as long as the loser learned his lesson. Uzumaki Naruto was not one to be trifled with._

"_Get off me you monster! I might get rabies if you touch me!" he mockingly harshly._

"_R-rabies? I don't have rabies!" Naruto bit back. The child recoiled back into a group of children standing by._

"_Look everyone, Uzumaki has rabies!" the group erupted into taunting laughter as they all pointed at the boy. Naruto shook with uncontrolled rage but the sadness was evident in his blue eyes._

"_Yeah. Just like a dirty fox!" another commented. He bit his lip in anger as his tiny fist twitched at his sides. He'd give anything to teach them a lesson. To make them eat their own words, give them a piece of their own medicine._

"_He doesn't even belong here! He should be out in the streets somewhere." One of them ran up to where he was perched on the ground and knocked him over. The others soon joined in, kicking in various places leaving him in pain. Instinctually, he gathered himself in a fetal position to lessen the pain of the blows. Oh how he prayed for a saving grace, something to turn the tables on this horrible day. This horrible life. Something, anything._

_He didn't ask for much. Three square meals a day, a place to sleep and peace. Maybe a friend or two but even he knew that was pushing the envelope._

"_Haha—hey! Ow!" one of the children cried. Naruto heard a thud, followed by the sound of punches being thrown and they didn't sound like soft ones either. Suddenly there were hurried footsteps hastily leaving the grounds and distant cries in their wake. He dared to open his eyes to see the previous boy on the ground being pummeled by someone._

"_Ouch! Th-that hurts!" the boy cried continuously._

"_Now you know how it feels." It was the sound of a girl, he thought. He sat up and watched as the girl slid off the boy while he made a sloppy escape, crying all the while. The girl huffed and dusted herself off before walking over to his sitting form. She crouched in front of him, dirt covering her small, chubby features, green eyes peering at him silently._

"_You okay?" she asked. He recognized her as the newest addition. She was a little taller than him with short pink hair and an abnormally big forehead. He nodded quite dumbly before jumping up excitedly._

"_Yeah, just a few scratches. No big deal." He shrugged, secretly wincing. She looked at him warily before nodding and turning away. "Wai—hey uhm thanks for that."_

"_Do they always pick on you?" she asked out of sudden concern. He looked taken aback by her question._

"_Not all the time…" he replied sheepishly. "I can usually fight 'em off but they ganged up on me this time."_

"_Hm…" was her reply before she began to walk away again. But Naruto's not the type to let people like her escape his grasp so easily. Not after what she did for him._

"_Say! Want to be friends?" he asked excitedly._

"_Why?" she asked with an arched eyebrow._

"_Well uh, you know. To look after each other."_

"…"

"_Please?" she sighed._

"_Fine."_

"_Yes! I'm Uzumaki Naruto, by the way."_

"_Haruno Sakura."_

Naruto awoke with a start from his dream. He groaned lightly as he rubbed the sleep from his eyes, sitting up on the couch. It had been awhile since he recalled how he and Sakura met. He smiled fondly at the memory. While they hadn't met on the best terms, they maintained a steady friendship even through the many adoptions they went through.

Sighing, he got up from the couch and made his way through the apartment. According to the calendar hanging in the kitchen, it was Tuesday, the day he was supposed to meet up with that bastard Sai. For some reason, he had a really bad feeling about this so called meeting and everything that was involved with it. First off, it had to do with Sai, a sneaky fool who shouldn't be underestimated. That's what Sakura said anyway.

Still, money was involved and he was getting a little low on cash.

"Gotta do what you gotta do, I guess." He rolled his shoulders back, exhaled deeply and set off for the streets, heading for the north side of town.

The northern area of Konoha was known as the unofficial ghetto. Unofficial because all the higher ups refused to acknowledge that such a place existed in the city. But that didn't stop all the terrible things that took place. If anything, the higher ups paid money to keep its existence a secret and only those on the streets knew about it.

Naruto grimaced as he walked down the streets heading north. The further he got, the scarcer the population became. It was as if a dark, murky cloud hung over the place. It was foreboding and brought forth a sense of paranoia. Modern citizens were warned to keep away from the outskirts, that something awful would happen if you stepped within a ten miles radius of the place. While that wasn't necessarily true people still kept their distance.

There were only four types of people who came in the outskirts. Drug addicts, prostitutes, gang members, and business men. It was all a big circle, as far as Naruto knew. The gang members would provide 'service' for frequent business men who, in return for that service, would give a sum of cash. That cash would then be used for drugs to provide for the addicts and anyone brave enough to sell it. Any extra money was given to prostitutes for their 'work.'

The biggest gang within the outskirts was known as ROOT. They are said to be the very foundation of Konoha, the hidden part that holds the city together and keeps it prosperous.

"Bullshit," the blonde growled as he came upon the old abandoned building. It was the nicest looking abandoned building he had ever seen in his life. He gathered his bearings and stepped inside.

"Ah Naruto-kun," came the voice of Sai as soon as he entered. "I was not sure you would be able to attend." He smiled a fake smile as he gestured for Naruto to follow him to the meeting place.

"I said I'd be here didn't I?" came his sharp reply. Sai merely nodded in response. Naruto had always been wary of the guy, especially after their first meeting. He knowingly picked a fight with Naruto just to see what kind of expression he would make. He later called Sakura multiple names and earned myself a black eye because of it. Sakura blamed his lack of people skills on a rough childhood. Naruto blamed his lack of people skills on stupidity.

'_No ones that clueless…' _ he thought to himself. They soon entered what looked like a conference room with several other people inside who seemed to be waiting.

"The meeting will begin now. Please refrain for any unnecessary outbursts." Sai warned him as they both sat next to each other. A few seconds later, a rather old looking man took his place at the mock podium and cleared his aged throat to gain the attention of the audience. He kept his eyes closed but still seemed to be gazing about the crowd, giving each individual a stare just for good measure.

"Who's the geezer?" Naruto asked. To any passerby, it would seem as if Sai were amused by Naruto's question but in actuality, he was twitching in apprehension.

"Please refrain from using such language in the presence of Danzo-sama." He warned. Naruto gave him a confused look.

"Danzo?"

"Yes. He is the leader of ROOT." He explained.

"That old guy?" He shouted quite loudly. Sai quickly covered the blonde's mouth giving him a shocked look, an expression Naruto had never seen on him.

"N-Naruto-kun!" he snapped.

"Oh, so you _can_ make different expressions." The blonde teased with a laugh. Sai dropped his hands in his lap as he turned back to the front, trying to ignore Naruto's laughter from beside him. He had never been around someone like Naruto. A person who probably bled liquid sunshine. It was a little unnerving to have someone so disgustingly cheerful working for ROOT when the average operative didn't smile at all.

'_I try to, at least…'_ the pale boy thought to himself. He sighed as he straightened himself in his seat, preparing to listen. Naruto, on the other hand, slumped down on his chair with his legs spread wide open and one of his arms hanging off the back.

"What the hell's he doing? Oi! Get on with—mmphf!" Sai reached over to cover his mouth once more, this time giving his head a good pound as he had seen Sakura do many times in the past. Hey, it seemed to work.

"What are you doing?" he sneered very uncharacteristically. Naruto only grinned again.

"This is the most emotion I've seen you show ever! Hah! We need to hang out more dude, you're a riot!" Despite the nature of the situation, Sai could only stare in awe at Naruto's suggestion. Said boy straightened himself and finally seemed to take notice of assault Sai laid on his skull. "And you hit like a girl, too!"

"H…hang out…more…?" he was genuinely confused. No one had ever said those words to him before. Ever.

"Hm? You say something?" the blonde asking with a curious expression.

"No, it's nothing."

"Ahem. I have called you all here to discuss an urgent matter concerning our fair city of Konoha. For years we, the members of ROOT, have been the foundation acting from behind the scenes and improving the way of life. But it is time for use to step out of the shadows and take our rightful place in the light."

"Eh? What's he talking about?" Naruto whispered.

"Shh!"

"We have a little over two weeks to prepare our onslaught against the slowly faltering government of Konoha. If all goes well, I shall take over as the new Hokage and the governor will be nothing more than a figure head under our control."

"Wha…"

"Our first order of business is to kidnap his daughter, Ohayashi Midori. The governor of the Wind country is holding banquet at the end of the month and that is our time to strike."

* * *

><p>"Oh! Is that the best you can do?"<p>

Dodge. Counter. Attack.

"That looked painful…"

Counter. Counter. Dodge.

"Come on, is this a warm up or what?"

Counter. Dodge. Counter.

"What was that?"

"…!"

"W-whoa…! Heh, come on! I was only—ouch! Cheap shot!" Sakura breathed deeply as she wiped the sweat trickling down her forehead. Her and Shisui had been sparring for the past hour and half and she had only hit him a total of four times, including the cheap shot she just got in.

"You play around way too much." She glared at him. He shrugged, wincing at the newly formed bruise on his shoulder.

"Yeah well, you take this way too seriously." Was his reply.

"Isn't that what I'm supposed to do?" she asked, incredulously.

"In essence, yes, that's exactly what you're supposed to do. But in your case, you over think, over strategize, and eventually end up losing your focus. In the process you give your opponent an advantage in battle." He explained.

"I see…" she sighed dejectedly. Shisui smiled in response as he tossed a towel over her head.

"Let's take a quick break." She nodded. Sakura walked over to her lone water bottle sitting by the wall and plopped down next to it, take a hardy sip. She exhaled as she brought it down and sat it beside her again. Sakura used the towel to wipe her face as she considered Shisui's words.

Maybe she was thinking about it too much. But that's just how her brain worked. This style of organized fighting just wasn't her thing. There was no way she was going to master it in two weeks either. She was used to throwing punches and hoping for the best, granted all her opponents were idiots so she never had a problem.

'_But we're probably up against trained professionals. I need to work harder.'_ With her resolve firm, Sakura stood up and stretched her limbs, ready for another round.

"All right Shisui, I'm ready." She called out. But instead of receiving a cheery reply, she got a calm one in its place.

"I'll be taking his place for the time being." Sakura's eyes widened at the sight of Itachi walking toward her. Now this was a shock. She seriously didn't take him for a fighter. He just looked to refined to resort to violence.

"You? But…but…Shisui, uh-"

"Don't tell me you're afraid." Then he smirked at her. Itachi dropped into a defensive stance and gestured for her to come at him. Taking his invitation, Sakura rolled her shoulders back and prepared to strike.

Evewn as she laid on her back, limbs throbbing painfully and the stoic Uchiha standing over her, Sakura had to wonder what happened.

"Wha…" she gasped out. Itachi offered his hand out to help her up which she accepted.

"Your attack was too obvious and you left yourself open. On top of that you were much too slow." He commented.

"I…I see."

"Shall we try again?" he offered. She nodded as she tried to get her bearings. She hadn't been tossed around like that since the first day. "Clear your head, Sakura."

"Right." With that, she came at him again and was able to avoid being thrown this time, but ended up receiving a nasty blow to her side. Quickly recovering, she dodged the next attack and countered the next two and waited for an opening. But with Itachi's fighting style, there was no opening. He never left himself vulnerable enough for her to attack him. Each blow he threw her way was so fast she barely had enough time to dodge let alone initiate an attack of her own.

'_You over think_, _over strategize, and eventually end up losing your focus.'_ Was what Shisui said really true? Did she really over think things when fighting? Sakura bit her lip in apprehension. How could she get passed this disadvantage. _'You take this way too seriously.'_

"Relax." Itachi called her out of her musings. She froze in the midst of a dodge and ending up falling on her bottom. A deep chuckle resonated within his chest at her disheveled form as he reached down to help her up once more. "Don't think, just act."

"But—!" she called.

"You rely heavily on your strength and you are strong but you lack speed. You then resort to using your mind to make up for the areas that you are deficient in. While it is necessary to think about attacks before executing them, over thinking leaves you wide open like Shisui said. In your case, you must seek out your instincts and logic. Try not to depend just on just one skill, but to strengthen them all."

"R-right."

"Once more?" he offered.

"Sure."

* * *

><p><strong>AN:** -sigh- I guess I'll end it here. Well let's see. I'm on vacation this week so you're really lucky I'm working on this story at all. So, I decided to finish this chapter early in the week so I could dedicate the rest of the week to relaxing before I start college. Gah! I'm going to college in less than a month! It's so freaking exciting! Ahem, anyway! I got a twitter account! Follow for updates on stories! I'm KrystalClear1. (KrystalClear101 was already taken -.-)

Danzo makes his appearance and I know at least one reviewer mentioned Sakura and Naruto's roles intercepting one another after chapter ten. And guess what, you were right! We'll have the appearance of another villain in later chapters, can you guys guess who it is? Well that's mostly it for now.

Thanks go to: **Akatsuki Sakura Uchiha, Xx4ying4yangxX, , .GRAVe18, Kiku Yasai, alphaladywolf, KawaiiSin, I'maWaffle, LittleAngel22493, KuroitsukiBlossom, Echo Uchiha, aDDiCTED-SUGaR, CrackedUpAngel, TeamTHEFT, **and **Lady Lauren.** As always you guys are amazing and I thank you for all your support thus far! Hopefully I'll have something out by next week.

See you in chapter 13!


	13. Chapter 13

It was raining. Not one of those soft spring showers but a heavy pelt. Sakura sighed as she watched droplets slide down the tinted window of Itachi's car. Life was becoming too routine for her so the rain was kind of refreshing. Day after day for the past week and a half she'd been doing the same thing. Training with Shisui in the morning, continuous mission protocol and practice with Obito, etiquette classes with Chiyo, and dinner with Itachi and Sasuke.

It was almost normal. Still, she kind of missed her hectic lifestyle…kind of.

"Etiquette with Chiyo-baa-sama?" she asked off handedly. Itachi made a quick turn into the hotel parking lot before picking a spot. It was more of a statement than a question but he didn't make any move to affirm it. Sakura watched him silently as he unclipped his seat belt and stepped out of the vehicle. She was about to follow his actions until he stopped her.

"Wait." He called. Itachi shut the door and moved around to the passenger side. Sakura eyed his figure with confusion until he opened her door for her with an umbrella in her grasp, shielding her from the current shower. She looked on with shock, taken by the gentlemanly gesture.

"Itachi…" she muttered. Feeling the heat rising to her face she steeled herself. "A little rain never hurt anyone you know?" she replied stubbornly. He stared at her with indifference before shrugging and walking off, leaving her to be drench.

"As you wish." Yet another shock. He was just full of surprises today. Sakura let a small smile come across her features as she chased after him. Strolling up beside him she was able to cover herself from the rain while standing as far away from him as possible. Itachi let a ghost of a smile appear on his stoic face as they stepped inside.

Immediately upon entering, Sakura was pulled from the Uchiha's side and thrust into the hands of a fuming Sasori who walked along side an apologetic Deidara. Sakura turned her head to look back at Itachi but his gaze was elsewhere, currently locked in a conversation with one of the hotel staff. She then turned her head back to the blond who gave a small wave in response to her questioning glances.

"Wha…" she whispered out. Soon they came upon the dress room where she quickly stepped up on the familiar stool where they stripped her down to just her under clothes. Despite the fact they'd seen her in this state many times, Sakura still covered herself out of reflex. She blushed heavily with a hard look on her face while they continued to move about the room, seemingly unaffected by the half naked girl standing before them.

'_Do I have no sex appeal?'_ she looked down at her body out of curiosity. Sure she wasn't the most voluptuous woman out there and her curves left something to be desired but she should've gotten some kind of rise out of them. Just the mere thought of being overlooked in such a matter was unsettling for some reason. She shifted uncomfortably on the stool, scratching her arm awkwardly.

Catching her strange stance, Deidara paused in his preparations.

"Sakura-chan?" he called. Her head snapped up at her name being called.

"What's with you?" Sasori also called out to her.

"Huh? Er, it's nothing." She said. They glanced at each other before looking back up at her. She eyed them warily until they went back to their duties, not giving her a second glance.

Soon she was placed in a midnight blue evening gown that flowed all the way passed her toes. It was different from her usual etiquette attire. She stared at the dress with a curious glance, picking up the silk material in her hands before raising her head to look at them.

Unexpectedly she was picked up from the stool and sat gently on the ground before Deidara who wore a sincere smile on his face.

"Sakura-chan," he began, resting his hands on her tiny shoulders. Sasori was behind her, fastening the dress and making a few last minute alterations. "You have to know that we'd never do anything to hurt you-"

"Ow!"

"Hush."

"-Aside from a few pricks and prods here and there. You're like our little imouto-chan. Besides, Itachi would kill us if we so much as glanced at you wrong, yeah." He joked, ruffling her pink locks with his large hand.

"I'd like to spare myself from his wrath as much as possible." Sasori added. He did the finishing touches on the dress and stepped away to get a good look at her. She stood before him with her arms laying at her sides shaking ever so slightly.

There was only one other person who thought of her as a little sister and she managed to botch up that relationship. This was kind of the same, despite that they were dress designers and not friends of her mother. They were there to look after her and she couldn't ask for anything more.

"…th…thank you." She whispered lightly, they almost missed it. Deidara gave Sasori a quick nudge before they engulfed her in a huge embrace, much to the head red's chagrin. She was surprised by the display of affection but couldn't help but be filled with an overwhelming feeling of joy. She laughed while hugging them back.

"All right. Enough." Sasori grumbled as he snaked his way out of their grasp. Deidara grinned as he stepped away from the pinkette to pick up her discarded clothes. "Put these on."

He dropped black heels in her outstretched hands, rousing a confused look. He merely shrugged at her expression before moving to help Deidara clean up their mess. Sakura sighed as she sat on the stool to put on the heels. They were dangerously high and difficult to put on. Not to mention how uncomfortable they were. But even with the heels on, the dress still covered her feet.

"Dude you're so short." Deidara teased. She frowned and made a move to step on his feet. He easily dodged the attack only for her to lose her footing in the accursed shoes and fall to her knees. She growled at the sound of the blonds laughter. Looking up she saw Sasori's outstretched hands.

"Take your time when walking and don't think about falling or you will. And don't try to step on people's feet. You'll only make a fool of yourself." He instructed as he pulled her up from the floor. She nodded slowly with a sigh.

After having her hair brushed and braided, Sakura was released into the conference room. But there was something different about it. There was no table with tea and tiny snacks, no Chiyo sitting at said table scowling at her appearance. Nope, just the floor and oddly placed speakers. Oh, and Itachi standing in the middle of the floor dressed in formal attire.

"Wha…" she whispered out.

"It's your first dance lesson Sakura-chan! Do your best!" with that Deidara gave her a hearty push onto the dance floor, her heels clicking obnoxiously all the way. She stumbled a bit before gaining her composure. Itachi stood about five feet away from her, poised and regale just like always.

"What are you doing here?" she asked. He snorted lightly before walking toward her. He extended his hand out to her with sheer gentleness in his demeanor. Sakura swallowed hard.

"I will be your dance instructor." He replied simply. Sakura sighed.

'_Of all people…'_ she grimaced.

"Wow, is there anything you can't do?" she asked playfully.

"Hn." Of course she wasn't really expecting him to answer. But the question got her thinking. Is there anything that Itachi is bad at? Does he have any weaknesses? At this point in time, it seems as if Itachi is invincible and that there's nothing he can't do. "Shall we get started?"

"Uh, yeah."

Taking her hand, he walked her through the basic steps of ballroom dancing. For the most part she was beginning to get the hang of it. Though, there were times when the numerous amounts of spinning and twirl did make her a bit nauseous. The only thing she was having a real issue with was her and Itachi's close proximity. Never had she been this close to him before and it was unnerving her to no end.

Their chests were practically a hair apart and it was doing things to her that she couldn't quite understand. The little wisps of his breathing fanning and flustered face caused her to look down at their moving feet. The feel of one his hands clasping her own with the other rested on her hip made her heart beat erratically.

But for Itachi? _Itachi? _A freaking cop for kami's sake! Why, what would Naruto say if he saw her?

"_Sakura-chan you look so pretty!"_ in reality he'd probably be too busy gushing over her appearance to pay attention to her dance partner. And even through all this, through all of her conflicting emotions Itachi appeared to have felt nothing.

He wasn't nervous, nor anxious, happy, sad, angry, frustrated, nothing at all. He was like an enigma. A stone wall that was impenetrable by any force, known or unknown. And it upset her to know that while she was having an internal battle with herself, he seemed to be calm, cool, and collected. The ever stoic Itachi incapable of being shaken by the whims of a teenage girl.

It angered her to no end. Not that she was trying to get a reaction out of him or anything like that. It would've been nice to have him at least smile while dancing with her. Isn't dancing supposed to be a fun activity?

"I'm certainly not having any…" she muttered crossly.

"Hm?" he looked down on her curiously, taking in her conflicted expression. "Is something the matter?"

"This is boring." She stated bluntly. Itachi looked at her silently before his dark eyes narrowed into a deadpanned look. She quickly recovered. "I mean, I know it's for the mission but isn't dancing, in general, supposed to be enjoyable? And where's the music at?"

"…" silence. Sakura set her mouth in a frown. Sensing her displeasure, Itachi slowly released her and walked over to the speakers. Tampering with a few buttons here and there, a flow of sweet classic music seeped from the devices and filled the entirety of the room. He sauntered his way back over her and resumed the previous position.

"Better?"

"I guess," she averted her gaze. Three movements into the waltz, Sakura was already crushing his toes. On accident, of course. Itachi tried not to wince every time her sharp heel came crashing down on his unsuspecting foot. Gods, it was an awful pain.

Trying to get some sort of relief, he released the hold on his hip to spin her around gracefully. One problem…she lacked the grace to pull it off successfully and ended up crashing into his chest, almost propelling them backwards. Had he been any other man, the wind would've been significantly knocked out of him. Thank the heavens for his Uchiha upbringing.

"You have the grace of a hippo Sakura." He remarked.

"Yeah well, you're an emotionless wall of…of…seriousness…?" she was a little unsure of that inslt.

"Wall of seriousness?" he mocked.

"Yes."

"I see." They continued to do what looked like a combination of dancing and fighting. "You are also lacking in the insult department."

"Shut up!" that time, she purposely made a move to step on his foot. The words of Sasori then rang in her ear.

'_You'll only make a fool of yourself.'_ Oh how right he was. Instead of smashing his foot like she had been intending to, Sakura instead stepped on the bottom of her dress, sending her flying forward in shock. Itachi quickly caught onto her fall and acted accordingly. In a way that only Itachi knows how, he managed to twist the situation around so that it looked as if he were caressing her in a sweet serenade of sorts.

"H-huh?" she gasped out. Itachi stared at her with a small smirk on his features as if he knew what her earlier intentions had been. She clenched her teeth together as her face turned an awful shade of red out of embarrassment.

"I told you so." Sasori mocked from the dress room door as he and Deidara poked their hands through to watch them.

"Told you what, Sakura?" Itachi asked, his tone suddenly dangerous.

"Uh, that you're…" she was at a loss for words. Averting her eyes from side to side she came up with the best answer she could at the moment. "A great dancer!" Well it wasn't a lie.

"Hn."

And he seemed to know that much.

* * *

><p><strong>AN**:Dun dun dun! This is the end of chapter 13. Lucky thirteen. We've made it to mother friggin 13! Woohoo! On another note, thanks to a spur of recent events we've made it to 100 reviews! Yay! I didn't think I'd get passed 50 to be honest. Haha, but this is so great. I'm glad that you guys are enjoying it. Despite popular belief, I kind of like getting alerts about people favorite and alerting. That's my own enjoyment.

Moving on! Brother/Sister actions between Deidara, Sasori, and Sakura. No, those two are not a couple, they just work together. Sorry if I'm crushing any dreams. Next, we have some sneaky ItaSaku bits in there to appease you guys since these last chapters have been rather lacking. What'd you think of that?

Special thanks goes to: **CrackedUpAngel, Akatsuki Sakura Uchiha, Hikari no Tsubasa Tenshi, Katarin Kishika, Tenshi no Sakura, Geanymaus, Kaydreams, TeamTHEFT, musicismylife17, AlwaysNdForever, Echo Uchiha, NeiikoChan, pure epicness1, Black snake eyes, Horseluver15, XxVallyValValxX, ImmAcU8grL, **and my 100th reviewer **inn0centdr3ameR!** Thanks for all your support and for helping me reach 100 reviews. I literally couldn't have done it without you guys. Next chapter will be exciting. In the midst of all the gloriousness taking place, Itachi walks in on Sakura while she's taking a bath! Can you say awkward? I can't wait!

See you in chapter 14!


	14. Chapter 14

"Wow, it's been raining nonstop for two days straight." Shisui commented as he stared out of the window of the training facility. Sakura wasn't that fair behind, tying up her shoes before she strolled up beside him to get a glimpse of the rain shower that carried on from yesterday. He turned with a shrug before giving her a knowing grin.

"You ready to get started? We're doing something a little different today." Sakura didn't like the look on his face. Instinctively, she took a few steps away from the grinning Uchiha as she tried to swallow her rising anxiety.

"Eh?" she mumbled. Chuckling at her expression, he reached into his bag and pulled out a DVD. The case was red with a weird looking guy on the cover giving a thumbs up. He looked very disturbing, to say the least.

"The other day I was walking down the street and I saw this weird looking kid with a God awful blow cut selling work out kits. So I decided to buy one, out of the goodness of my heart, just for you." He tapped her nose playfully. She glared at swatted his hand away. Shisui handed her the DVD so she could get a better look.

'_The Amazing Power of Youth! With Maito Gai. Increase your stamina and speed in less than two weeks? What the hell?'_ she looked up at him incredulously as he went back into the bag with weights in his hands.

"Here put one on each of your wrists and ankles and let's head outside." Shisui nodded to her before taking the DVD and heading toward the doors. Sakura stared at his retreating figure with her mouth a gape and her eyes wide. He couldn't be serious, it was raining like crazy out there.

"But it's raining!" she protested.

"Pssh! Don't tell me you're afraid of a little rain. You have to learn to work in all types of weather conditions. Who knows, it might be raining the night of your mission. Better to be prepared, ne?"

"Tch, whatever." She hated when he was right.

So Sakura stood outside in the rain, in nothing but her usual training clothes and a ten pound weight attached to each of her limbs, waiting for Shisui to give her instructions. There was a permanent scowl on her face as the rain continued to pelt down on her figure relentlessly. She grimaced at the sound of faint thunder in the distance and made a vow to make Shisui pay in the near future.

"Ok! 200 laps around the track!" he called.

"200? Are you insane?" she shouted back.

"That's what the instructions say. And if you can't do that then it's 200 pushups." He continued

"Why 200?"

"Hey, don't shoot the messenger all right? If you can't do that then it's 300 sit ups. If you can't do that then it's 150 pulls ups, then it's-"

"This is crazy! There's no way I can do all of that!" Sakura stomped her weighted foot into a puddle, causing water to splash up on her leg and drip into her sock.

"You never know unless you try. Besides, look at how cool he looks. Well, minus the weird haircut…and the eyebrows…and the jumpsuit…and that creepy grin. You know what, just do as many laps as you can and we'll go from there all right?"

"Fine." She sighed as she began her to run. Her steps were a little labored due to the weights and it put a definite strain on her arms to move them back and forth in time with her strides. But she felt it was necessary and so far Shisui never made her do anything that he didn't deem as important so she wouldn't stop trusting him now.

* * *

><p>Sakura couldn't recall the last time she had felt so drained. Practically every part of her body ached in utter exhaustion just begging her to sit down somewhere, anywhere. Her body was dirty almost beyond recognition, covered in dirt, mud, and fragments of grass. She stumbled into her bedroom and fell atop the mattress in a heavy huff. Her face was planted firmly into the mattress, the scent of dawny freshness entering her nostrils.<p>

She exhaled deeply before turning her head to the side, eyeing her own private bathroom. She needed to bathe and very badly. Shisui worked her like a slave today and she had the sweat and mud spots to prove it. She felt disgusting and sticky and couldn't stand to be in this state much longer. So, she lifted herself up from the bed and strode towards the bathroom.

Sakura hadn't even gotten two feet in the bathroom before her legs began to cramp up. She cringed at the feeling. At this rate, taking a shower would be impossible. But a bath did sound rather nice.

'_But there's only a shower in here…'_ she thought to herself. Gathering up her washing belongings, Sakura set out for a tour of the Uchiha household that was long overdue. Limping out of her room, she walked passed Sasuke's room and continued down the hall where she encountered two unfamiliar doors. She opened one of them and…

It was a storage closet for bath towels and the like. She grumbled at the discovery and turned her attention to the other door. She opened it and was immediately met by steam. Aha! It was a bathroom with a luxurious bathtub already filled to the brim with wondrous hot water. Sakura couldn't believe it. It was as if someone heard her silent calls for a nice hot soak in the tub.

But it seemed a little too good to be true in her book. Despite her suspicious, she wasn't up for an investigation at all. Closing the door behind her, Sakura quickly stripped down, tied her hair up and eased herself into the steaming liquid with a content sigh. The feeling was indescribable. Like she had never taken a bath in her life before.

"Ah, this feels so nice." She lowered herself more making sure her nose stayed above the surface so she wouldn't drown. How embarrassing would that be? Her muscles sighed along with her as they experienced immediately relief from the earlier strain put on them. After soaking for about a minute Sakura came to the conclusion that baths were the most amazing things ever.

She reclined her head back to stare at the ceiling as she began to wash herself. It had been a ridiculously long day, one of the longest in a while. Shisui specifically targeted her low stamina and speed. While she couldn't disagree with the man, she through it better to approach the workings of her body more delicately instead of attacking it head on. That Maito Gai was an insane bastard and she wished to hurl him across the globe.

"Darn that Shisui…" she grumbled while making bubbles with her nose. Naturally, thinking of Shisui made her think of Itachi. She frowned when his name popped into her thoughts. Even after all this time, she still didn't understand him. How someone could invite a stranger into their home and trust them without fault was beyond her. Not to say that she was scum of the earth or anything but it was so strange. Any normal person would've left well enough alone.

"But I guess Itachi isn't all that normal." She sighed once more as she closed her eyes and relaxed. "Still,"

Click!

Her eyes snapped open, wide in alert.

"Sakura?"

"Itachi? W-what? What are you doing in here?" she quickly covered herself as best as she could while he stood in the threshold of the bathroom dressed in a dark yukata with washing utensils in his grasp.

"…Excuse me." With that, he stepped out of the room without another word, leaving her to continue her activity. But the mood had been killed and Sakura was a little upset.

"What the hell is his problem?" she growled as she shot up from the waters. She angrily dried herself off and quickly wrapped the towel around herself before storming out of the restroom, intent on finding Itachi in order to give him a piece of her mind. What was she angry about? Well, she didn't really know but she was angry.

"Itachi!" she stormed in his bedroom donned in a towel, hair disarray and face red with anger.

"Yes?" he called back simply.

"Tch. Don't yes me you-you! Ugh! I don't even know what to call you!" she shouted in frustration. He arched a brow at her outburst, not understanding why she was in his presence at the moment.

"Haven't you ever heard of knocking?" she excused him.

"I apologize. I didn't realize you were going to switch washrooms." He said simply. He was making her angry. How could he be so cool about this situation? Any normal man would be blubbering around like an idiot, red in the face and embarrassed about catching a woman in the bath.

"Yeah well whatever!" she stubbornly crossed her arms and turned away from him. "You didn't…you didn't s-see anything did you?"

"I did."

"…! Y-you did? How can you be so calm about this?" she shouted once more. Itachi narrowed his eyes at her high voice level.

"Sakura," he started.

"Come on! Be embarrassed, get turned on, show some emotion for kami's sake!" she went on and on, completely ignorant to Itachi's irritated expression at her useless banter.

"Is that what you want me to do?" he asked.

"W-well yeah! You're making me think the female body does nothing for your hormones at all." She turned her back on him with her arms crossed over her chest. It was silent after that and Sakura had to wonder if she went a little too far this time. Their relationship was odd. She couldn't really put a name on it even if she tried.

They were just Itachi and Sakura. Kind of like opposites.

"Sakura," he began again, this time standing directly behind her with his hands hovering over her bare shoulders. She shivered at the close proximity but made no move to step away from him. "Would you rather I let my hormones get the better of me?"

"I-Itachi…?"

"Here you are, in my bedroom, clad in nothing but a towel." He said. Sakura swallowed her sudden anxiety.

"Y-yeah but," she had been stupidly impulsive and was paying dearly for it.

"Any other man would've had his way with you by now, Sakura." His arms snaked their way around her shoulders, his head resting in the crook of her neck. He took in her scent with one quick inhale before raising his lips to her ear.

"Go to sleep." With that, he released the flustered girl in one fluid motion before brushing passed her and leaving the room. Sakura stood stock still, her arms stiff at her sides until her towel began to unravel slowly. Quickly catching it before she exposed herself, she walked out of the room with a shred of her dignity in tow.

Who was she kidding? It was Itachi for crying out loud. She already admitted that he wasn't normal. What she was expecting him to do, exactly? Ravish her like a wolf on a defenseless lamb? If he did that, she'd surely lose all the built up respect she had for him and would abandon this mission without a second thought.

But he didn't, even though he very well could've thrown her on his bed and taken advantage of her, he didn't. He restrained himself. He fought against his manly desires in order to keep her comfortable and their relationship platonic. Not for just his sake but for hers as well. If he wanted to try something, he did a good job of hiding his desire to do so. She sighed as she made her silent trek back down the hall, pausing at the bathroom door along the way. She smiled to herself as he popped into her thoughts for the umpteenth time that night.

Sakura strode into her room and slid down her closed door. That night she came to a conclusion about Itachi.

"He's completely selfless."

* * *

><p><strong>AN:** Phew! I finished this chapter a lot sooner than I thought I was. But yay, it's done!

So, more character introductions today, although they themselves weren't in the chapter the basic concept is understood right? Gai and Lee! Haha! The God awful blow cut, fuzzy eyebrows, green jumpsuit, and does anyone else think his grin is creepy? I shudder because of it. Anyway! Let's move on to the bath scene. Oh crap! Itachi saw Sakura naked! How traumatizing! Or is it? Haha! But of course, he's Itachi so he can't act out of character for any reason. That's just how cool he is.

Thanks go to: **miscellaneousSam, Shockinblue, Angel Of Darkness And Light, Echo Uchiha, inn0centdr3ameR, Rinaty, Akatsuki Sakura Uchiha, Chi-Chii-chan, chibi-akasaku-lover, **and **Lady Lauren.**

Quick question here! It's open to everyone but I'm directing it towards Kishimoto-sama (like he'd ever read this…haha) but here's my question! Why don't we know anything about Sakura's character other than her name, personality, characteristics and such? She's like the female lead and we know more about supporting characters than we do her. I just find that to be a bit odd is all. Anyway that's it.

See you in chapter 15!


	15. Chapter 15

"So calling you a dickless panty wad is a bad thing?" asked a confused Sai. He nursed his aching jawbone while inching further and further away from the fuming blond before him. They had been engrossed in one of their daily jovial conversationS. And like all conversations, Sai said something he wasn't supposed to, made Naruto angry, and got hurt because of it.

"Of course it's a bad thing! I swear, you're so friggin' stupid even I can't believe it!" Naruto shouted.

"But, isn't you calling me stupid the same thing?" He defended himself. Naruto froze, contemplating what the pale boy said.

"I—well no it's…! Ah, I'm only telling the truth from how I see it, okay?" he replied.

"As am I."

"Eh? You've never seen…! Gah! Forget it…" he grumbled as he stuffed his hands in his pockets and walked down the street with Sai trailing behind him silently. "What are you following me for?"

"I was told to keep an eye on you." He said.

"By who? That old geezer?" Naruto asked. Sai had been tailing him ever since they left that meeting last week. Every morning the boy would appear at his doorstep and would drop him off at night. He was like a body guard or something of that nature. Or an overbearing mother hen.

"Danzo-sama is not a geezer." Sai defended. "He is just aged, is all."

"Pssh, fancy talk for gee-zer!" Naruto stuck out his tongue. They, well Naruto, were heading towards Ichiraku for lunch. Of course Naruto had suggested they go there and Sai must follow for it is his duty. Once inside, both boys strolled up to the counter where Ayame took their orders and left them to their own devices.

Naruto sat with his head propped up with one arm while he busied himself with picking out a suitable pair of chopsticks. Sai sat beside him with his own hands resting his lap while he stared straight ahead. The blond shot him a sideward glance once he grabbed his chopsticks. Unbeknownst to his own self, he began to analyze the boy with his mind. For as long as he had known him, Sai had always been a mysterY and he still was.

He had just appeared out of nowhere one day after he and Sakura had just made enough money to cover the rent that month. He introduced himself and then proceeded to insult the both of them like it was nothing. After recovering, he explained how he could offer them odd jobs to do for money. Sakura was reluctant to trust such a guy, as was Naruto. But at that time, money was money and they didn't really care where it came from.

The jobs were similar to what they had been doing before. Simple robberies where no one got hurt, acts of trickery, even a few sketchy games of poker. Things were going pretty good for them. They had enough money to sustain themselves and they were pretty happy. Until one night, Sai had them rob a place only for it to be a mean set up.

'_Barely escaped with our heads. But somehow…' _Naruto thought to himself. In the end, Sai ended up saving their butts somehow. So they weren't all that mad with him about what happened. They just never trusted him again after that, Sakura more so than Naruto. Which is probably why he's sitting next to the guy in a ramen shop like they're the best of friends.

"Itadakimasu," they both chanted once their meals were sat before them. More thoughts crossed into Naruto's mind as he ate. The mission he had been saddled up with quickly entered his mind. Sai had mentioned something about a large sum of cash and that was all he needed to hear. But his conscious was telling him that something was fishy about the whole set up. And his conscious just so happened to have the same voice as Sakura, how convenient.

Just then his phone started to ring. Speak of the devil.

"Yup," he answered nonchalantly.

"_Naruto? Hey it's me."_ Ah, it sounded so nice to hear her voice after so long. She still sounded the same, if not, a bit happier.

"Hey Sakura-chan! What's up?" at the sound of that name, Sai looked up from his noodles and gave Naruto a quiet glance.

"_Just checking up on you. What have you been up to?"_

"Ah, you know. Same old same old, haha what about you? Are they treating you ok?" he asked.

"_Yeah, I'm fine. It's a little harder than I thought it was going to be though. Let me guess, you're at Ichiraku's."_ He laughed at her guess. _"Stop blowing your money on that stuff!"_

"I'm not blowing my money if it's ramen Sakura-chan. Not like how you used to…" he murmured that last part.

"_Excuse me? I never wasted my money. The only thing I bought with the extra money we rarely got were books and-"_

"Exactly! A big money waster! Nobody reads anymore Sakura-chan!" He joked.

"_I read you idiot! And if you knew what was good you'd read more often." _She scolded him. Naruto couldn't help but grin.

"But I do read!"

"_Instructions for instant ramen don't count!"_ he laughed loudly at her statement, fragments of noodle flying from his mouth in response. Sai arched a brow at his sudden happiness. How could Sakura make him so happy with just a telephone call? He just didn't understand how she was able to evoke such emotions out of him while he only managed to make him angry.

'_How strange…'_

"Aha," Naruto finally calmed down. Suddenly, a sober mood came over him as he pushed his bowl aside and rested his elbows on the table. "I've missed you…Sakura-chan."

"_I…I've missed you too Naruto."_ She replied.

"Stay on their good side, ok? And be careful."

"_That's my line. You be careful too. I'll talk to you later."_ She said.

"Yeah. Bye." He sighed as he flipped the phone closed and stuffed it back in his pocket. Sai had also finished his bowl and was simply waiting for Naruto to end the call.

"Naruto-kun," Sai called. Naruto turned his head and gave him a questioning glance. "Where is Sakura-san?"

"Sakura-chan is," he paused in mid thought. Of course he wasn't actually going to tell Sai where she was. She had told him not to tell anyone about what happened.

"She's where she's supposed to be."

* * *

><p>"Ah!" came a female shriek. Sasuke was in the middle of a horridly grueling homework assignment when he heard the scream of their houseguest. He had never heard her scream before, it sounded like she was terrified. But Sasuke wasn't one who cared about such things, especially about a girl like her.<p>

Just who did she think she was? First she intrudes in on his space and takes up all of aniki's attention so he can't bother him anymore. Then she took his hairdryer and even tried to seduce him. He'll admit that she's interesting in her own right but just as strange as any other female he's come into contact with.

"Sasuke come here!" she called. He groaned as he pushed himself away from his desk. Since when had they become so buddy-buddy anyway? Who gave her permission to address him in such a friendly manner? The nerve of her…

"What?" He answered harshly as he entered the threshold of her bedroom. She was huddled up on a chair with her knees up to her chest. Her frantic green eyes shot to his figure as she shook uncontrollably. Her arm then pointed swiftly to the floor below where the source of her distress sat. It was a bug.

"Kill it!" she demanded. Sasuke deadpanned and made a move to leave such a troublesome woman to her own devices until she stopped him with her words.

"Please Sasuke! I'll never bother you again!" she pleaded.

"You said that last time." Was his reply. Hm, this was starting to get interesting. He smirked.

"You didn't even do what I asked though!" she shouted in response. "Just kill it."

"You kill it. It's just a bug." Sasuke stepped into the room, just feet away from where the creepy crawler sat, seemingly oblivious to the giants surrounding it.

"But it's so gross!" she shrieked. He frowned at her distraught expression. Here he thought she was this great piece of awesomeness that wasn't to be trifled with. (Of course he'd never say that out loud.) But as it turns out she's still a girl underneath that tough skin. And girls are weird creatures who are afraid of things way smaller than them.

"Hn." With that, he reached down to pick up the bug by its antenna's with the intention of setting it free. But then a devilish idea popped into his mind. He gave the frightened Sakura a feral smirk before holding up the bug to her face to get a rise out of her. She jumped back in shock, toppling the chair over in the process. Her face turned a dangerous shade of blue as he stepped closer to her with the insect struggling in his grasp.

"Get that thing away from me you jerk!" she shouted.

"But Sakura, it's just a little bug." He taunted.

"Sasuke!" she screamed. Satisfied, he stepped around her and to the window where he opened it and tossed the bug outside. She sighed quite loudly from behind him causing him to smirk. He turned back to see her picking herself up from the ground, shakily.

"Who knew that you'd be afraid of bugs." He teased. Sakura blushed red before storming out of the room, mumbling something that sounded oddly like 'bastard' in between breaths. He shrugged and walked out of her room and back into his own where he attempted to finish his homework. It was moments like the previous ones where he was kind of content with her stay in their home. She made things interesting between the two Uchiha's.

Itachi, when he wasn't being an evil older brother, was as boring as they come. He never did anything remotely exciting and Sasuke made two efforts in their house: to stay as far away from his brother as possible while making his life a living hell. After about three years of the same routine, it got kind of old.

He couldn't say he liked the girl but he didn't dislike her which was a lot when compared to the girls at his school. They were simply unbearable. Mildly, he wondered what Sakura would've been like had she grown up normally. If she went to his school and hung out with friends and did things that normal teenagers did. He didn't spend a lot of time thinking about other people but when he did, they were some pretty in depth thoughts.

With his keen mind, he guessed that Sakura would be a lot happier, cheerful even. She'd be smart, able to attract a lot of attention and she'd probably be a teacher's pet. That's just the type of vibe she gave off to him. And she'd be infatuated with him like ninety-nine percent of the female population at his school. But he really couldn't blame her, he was amazing.

His thoughts then shifted to how great he was. While he was lost in his own mind, he missed the sudden appearance of the girl in his previous thoughts entering his room without permission.

'_I'm so awesome. I'm so great. I'm amazing. My back is wet…'_ he paused. Wait. His back was wet? Why was his back wet? He reached his hand back and sure enough, it came back damp.

"What the-" he turned to see Sakura standing in his room holding a couple water balloons in her arms while smiling smugly at him.

"Shisui gave me these incase you started acting like an asshole. I'll have to thank him." He narrowed his eyes at her before another thought popped into his mind. His last thought about Sakura.

'_She's annoying.'_

* * *

><p>Elsewhere, at Konoha's police station, Uchiha Obito sat in his office mulling over a few things as he tended to do every once in while. He held Sakura's file in his hands and smiled faintly. The girl was something else, he'd admit. In just two weeks she had made so much progress as he heard from Shisui and Itachi. It was a shocker to say the least.<p>

What was in more of a shock was how she didn't remember him. He was very close with Kakashi when she began staying with him and he often popped up from time to time. Of course, he didn't make a big impact in her life but he at least hoped to make a lasting impression. But that was in the past and she knew him now and that was all that mattered, he supposed. But maybe it was for the best that she didn't remember him. Maybe that would make this process a whole lot simpler.

"Obito," Rin called as she opened the door of his office. He acknowledged her with a nod and beckoned her to sit down. She entered quietly and sat in front of his desk with her hands folded in her lap.

"Did you find him?" he asked.

"Yeah but you know he's reluctant to come back." She replied with a frown.

"We'll have to tell him then." He said simply.

"Are you sure? It's a been awhile and-"

"I've never been more sure of anything in my life. If we tell him the truth I'm sure he'll help out." He replied. He sounded so confident it made Rin smile. It had been a long time since she'd since her old friend so fired up, and about work of all things. The only thing she could do at this point was trust him.

"All right. Shall I send him in?" she stood and made her way to the door. Obito nodded as he fixed his clothes. How long had it been, exactly? Two, three years? They used to be best friends but after he resigned from the police force he hardly saw the man. He couldn't lie and say he wasn't just a tiny bit nervous. The man could be stubborn when he wanted to.

Suddenly the door creaked open and in stepped a man no younger than thirty. He stayed by the door with his hands stuffed lazily in his pockets as he stared at the Uchiha with an uninterested glance. Obito stood to greet him with a nervous expression. But he couldn't help the urge to grin that came over him as he stared at him. It really had been a long time.

"Obito," he still sounded the same as far as he could tell. "It's been awhile."

"Ah. Take a seat." The man obliged and sat down in the seat previously occupied by Rin. Obito busied himself with straightening his work area while the man stared on silently.

"I see you've gotten yourself an office now." He commented as he looked about the room.

"Uh, yeah. I was promoted last year." He replied.

"You've done well for yourself." There it was. That creased eye smile. He remembered seeing that smile as a child. Even if it was a mocking smile a smile was still a smile. He felt tears welling up in his eyes at the sight of it. It was just so nostalgic.

"K-kakashi…" he called out quietly.

"Hm?" he answered. Obito straightened himself before answering.

"The police force is requesting your return." He explained. Kakashi sighed as he rubbed his chin.

"Obito, I've been off duty for almost four years now." He replied tiredly.

"I know! But this is important. Your participation is crucial to the missions success." Obito quickly dug in one of his drawers for a manila folder, which he handed to man across the table. "I'm sure you've heard of the banquet in Suna. Well the governor's daughter is being targeted and he's asked for our help."

"The governor's daughter…" Kakashi muttered. Without asking Obito already knew what he was thinking. He couldn't help but secretly smile.

"I already have Shisui and Itachi on the mission as well as a new recruit whose job is to replace Midori-sama when the time is right. But-"

"You feel like you need me?" he asked. Obito nodded in response. "Itachi and Shisui should be enough. I don't need to be a part of this Obito. I stopped working for the force when-"

"I know but there's—just open the folder." He sighed shakily. Complying with his wishes, Kakashi flipped open the folder and read its contents just for Obito's sake. What he found inside was no different from the folders he received in the past. The mission statement, date, time, location, things of that nature.

"I don't understand what you want me to see." He said with a bored look.

"I want you to see who the new recruit is." Here it was, he was going to find out. Better to tell him now than for him to find out in the middle of the mission. The room suddenly grew quiet as Kakashi ceased his flipping. Obito looked on apprehensively as Kakashi shut the folder and laid it on the desk.

"…where is she…" he muttered.

"Kakashi…"

"Where is she, Obito? How'd you find her?" Kakashi shot up from his desk and lunged at the man, grabbing him by the collar angrily.

"Tch. Get a hold of yourself!" Obito shot back. He shook off his grip and eyed him warily. Sakura had always been a touchy subject for him even more so now since he hadn't seen her in eight years. "She's been staying with Itachi for the past couple weeks. He found her out on the streets one day and recruited her specifically for this mission."

"…" he was silent.

"She's made a lot of progress and has potential." He explained.

"Are you sure she's ready for something like this? This is dangerous! I won't allow you to put her in danger!" he shouted. Obito steeled himself against the man in retaliation.

"I know that. We all know that but Itachi has put his faith in her and he has yet to disappoint anyone." Obito then reclaimed his seat while Kakashi remained standing. "Will you join?"

"Under one condition." He started. "Let me test her."

"Test her?" he asked, confusedly.

"Yes. If she passes, I'll join. But if she fails, I'm pulling her out and taking her back with me." Kakashi stood with his back, eyes forward and full of determination.

"Kakashi…heh," Obito shook his head as he laughed to himself. He stood once more and held out his hand to the man in agreement.

"You never change."

* * *

><p><strong>AN:** I really really really don't like this chapter. At first I thought it would be fun to have it centered around Naruto, Sasuke, and Kakashi you know to get a little team 7 seven in there. But it was really annoying and I just don't like it. But it just serves as a filer so I guess it'll have to do. But anyway, Kakashi is back in action after a six chapter absence and so is Naruto and we got to hear Sasuke's thoughts on Sakura. Just to set the record straight, this will NOT be a love triangle. It is strictly ItaSaku. I apologize if I'm crushing any dreams.

Back to the chapter! So what do you guys think Kakashi's test will be? We'll (hopefully) find out soon. Next time we'll get to see Sakura and Midori for a little bonding time. That should be interesting right? Sorry, no Itachi is this chapter. He'll be back soon I promise! Next I'd like to thank everyone who responded to my open question in the last chapter. It was really fun to read everyone's opinions and such. I didn't get a response from Kishimoto-sama though…ah well who cares as long as he doesn't kill Sakura I'll be satisfied.

Thanks go to: **Echo Uchiha, Lady Lauren, Regin, CrackedUpAngel, NightmareSpaz23, Lady Ashen Ink, Black snake eyes, inn0centdr3ameR, TeenageCrisis, ibeast, Angel of Darkness And Light, Akatsuki Sakura Uchiha, bookworm142, Kaydreams, **and** TheHeartBreaker. **Whoa! We're heading for chapter 16 now. Thanks for all your support. I love you guys.

See you next time!


	16. Chapter 16

"Ohayo Sakura-san!" Said pinkette was startled by the cheerful greeting coming from her charge as they entered the governor's estate early Saturday morning. If she recalled correctly, Midori had been very curt, almost downright rude, and didn't show any signs of changing any time soon. So seeing her smiling and being nice was kind of a shock.

"Uh ohayo?" she greeted back uneasily. Midori nodded accordingly before ushering her further inside the building.

Today's visit was going to be a little different from last time. And for that reason Sakura was a little bit nervous, though she wouldn't voice such a secret. The night before Itachi had explained that she would be spending the entire day with Midori in order to get successfully learn her mannerisms in every aspect of her life. They'd be eating every meal together, spending time in the mansion, and just getting to know each other.

"Do your best Sakura." Itachi called as he prepared to leave. Seeing him go was gut wrenching. Sure she had been left alone before but not with someone like Midori who obviously had a split personality.

"Right." He nodded in agreement before closing the door behind him. Sakura sighed before turning to the woman. She was a little surprised to see her glaring draggers at her with her arms crossed over her chest. She couldn't understand why Midori would want to look at her in such a way. She hadn't remembered doing anything to offend her, at least she hoped not.

"Bernard!" she shouted quite loudly throughout the house. Sakura looked at her with an arched brow. Who was Bernard?

"Yes Midori-sama." A strange man seemingly appeared out of nowhere right behind Sakura, nearly scaring her senseless. She turned to face him slowly. He was tall and slim, clothed in butler's attire with a curly black mustache covering his top lip. Every cliché butler theory was proven true in his appearance.

"Take her upstairs to change then send her down to the dining room for breakfast. That is all." Without another word, she left the main area and went to do whatever it is governor's daughter's do. Sakura stared at her retreating figure strangely before turning to face the man.

"Uhm," she stuttered nervously. He sneered at her with his nose upturned slightly as if he were looking down on her. The man gave a low grunt as if he was sizing her up before pivoting on his heel and turning in the opposite direction.

"Please follow me madam." He called. Sakura jumped at the sound of his bellow before trailing behind him. He led her up a spiral staircase and down a seemingly endless hallway. The carpet was lush and a deep royal red color with gold trimmings along the edges. The floor below it was a perfectly shiny marble color and showed the reflection of the overly decorated boarding along the bottom of the wall and up. The upper level was much more extravagant than the lower level.

They had passed by five doors, Sakura noted, before coming upon the room where Bernard stopped and opened the door. He opened the door and gestured for her to enter before following. Inside was a queen sized bed covered in rich purple linen with silver trimmings on a mahogany colored bedpost. The floor was covered with flawless snow white carpeting that looked too perfect for either of them to be stepping on.

"Wow," she gasped out as she looked about the room.

"Midori-sama wishes for you dress yourself in the attire she has laid out for you. Breakfast will begin promptly in twenty minutes. Please do not be late." With that, he bowed gracefully before exiting the room.

Sakura let out a heavy breath before turning her attention back to the room itself. It was huge! Way bigger than the apartment she was living in with Naruto. She couldn't believe such a place existed in Konoha. If this was what the governor lived with she'd love to see the president. His was probably ten times more unbelievable.

"Rich people have no idea how good they've got it." She shook her head. She hadn't noticed it before but a seafoam green dress was laid out flat against the purple bedding. She guessed that was the dress Midori had laid out for her. Picking it up in her hands she examined it. It wasn't much different from the many dresses she had in her closet back at Itachi's place. The material was soft to the touch, not too heavy and not too light, with fancy embroidery along the neck and waist lines. This one was also floor length and flowed outwards from the hips.

Once she got it on, she had a little trouble zipping it up. She bounced about the room, reaching backwards in all kinds of directions just to get the blasted zipper up the length of her back. She cursed to herself, making a mind to event an automatic zipper for situations when Sasori and Deidara weren't around to assist her in trivial matters such as these.

"And that was the easy part." She muttered softly. Sakura seated herself in front of the vanity and began to brush her hair. Having breakfast with Midori was nerve racking. Spending the entire day with her would probably drive her insane.

* * *

><p>"Took you long enough. I suppose you are on time though. But what in heaven's name have you done with your hair? Ugh, I would never wear such a hideous style." Midori scoffed as she circled poor Sakura like a snake cornering a mouse. Sakura grimaced at the older woman's words before steeling herself and regaining her composure.<p>

"It will have to do for now. Sit, sit we must not waste any more time." She quickly sat down at the table with Sakura sitting across from her. Midori expertly unfolded her napkin and laid it neatly in her lap before snapping her dainty fingers. One by one, servant after servant entered the room wielding plates and trays of various breakfast foods. They were sat before the two ladies with the scents floating off them in waves, nearly making Sakura drool. The food itself smelled great and looked even better.

"Thank you. You all may leave us." With that, the help bowed before retreating back to the kitchen. Midori sighed before saying a small prayer. She then began to fill her plate with a modest amount of food in a controlled manner. Sakura followed suit while on her toes, waiting for Midori to talk first.

"So, Sakura-san," she began as she buttered her toast. Sakura paused, letting her continue. She had a strangely calm look on her face as she completed the task and sat the piece of a golden brown bread on her plate before staring at her doppelganger head on. "What is your relationship with Itachi-kun?"

If Sakura had of been chewing on something she probably would've choked. Was she serious? Her relationship? With Itachi? Where the hell did that come from? Sakura laid down her silverware before giving Midori a perplexed looked.

"I-I'm not sure what you mean." She cursed herself for stuttering.

"Do not play coy with me little girl. Shall we get one thing straight? Uchiha Itachi-kun is off limits from little tramps such as yourself. Keep any unhealthy thoughts about him far from that dirty mind of yours." she jeered while pointing her knife in Sakura's direction with an icy glare.

"Tramp?" she muttered

"Do not think that you have a special advantage simply because you stay underneath the same roof." Midori flipped her wavy pink locks over her shoulder haughtily while Sakura continued to stare on in utter shock.

"But—!"

"For the record, Itachi and I have known each other since grade school. We have what you street urchins call 'history.' Your meager existence pales in comparison to mine."

"Urchins? Meager existence?"

"A man like Itachi would never fall for a fake when he can have the original. You hair is probably not even pink." Okay, that one hurt.

"Now hold on just a-"

"There shall be no holding on. I need you to understand. Your mission is protect me and be on your merry way when the banquet is over. Not to flirt your way into my future husband's heart. Are we clear?"

"…"

"I said are we clear?" she asked again.

"No, we most certainly are not clear." Sakura replied as she stood suddenly from her chair, the legs screeching against the floor quite loudly.

"Excuse me?" Midori mirrored her actions.

"There is nothing going on between Itachi and I. And even if there was something I do not see how that is any of your business, Midori-sama." Sakura said.

"Why you rude little-"

"And that is beside the point. I came here to learn how to _better_ protect you, not to fight over a man who seems to show no interest in women what so ever." She finished, returning to her seat. Midori was left standing with her mouth wide open while Sakura ignored her, choosing to eat her breakfast instead. Eventually, the woman sat down slowly with her hands folded in her lap. Looking up silently from her meal, Sakura began to immediately regret her little outburst.

"You…! You…!"

'_Shit! Itachi is going to kill me!'_

"You are completely correct!" Midori cried loudly.

"Huh?" Sakura called. She was nervous. Why was Midori being so loud?

"Itachi-kun! You must have noticed how he does not react like most men do to female advances! I presumed I was the only one!" Midori exclaimed as she grabbed a napkin in her hands, gripping it rather tightly. Sakura stared at her with wide eyes as the woman went on and on about her man troubles.

"It is so frustrating to be infatuated with a man who is like a stone! Is he always so enigmatic?" she asked. Midori was breaking all table etiquette rules that Chiyo had drilled into Sakura's mind. Her elbows were practically denting the table top, she was chewing with her mouth open and quite loudly at that. One hand was fisted in her previously perfectly styled hair. She was like a completely different person.

"Uh," Sakura was at a loss for words. She didn't know what to say.

"Please Sakura-san! You must tell me everything you know about Itachi-kun! I cannot be in the dark about his character much longer!" she pleaded biting on said napkin.

Was this for real?

"Midori…sama?"

"You must! I-I promise I will be much nicer to you!" that was it? She'd be nicer?

"You don't have to-"

"Please!"

* * *

><p>"Oh," Midori hummed to herself. "I never took Itachi for a dango lover."<p>

After her begging spell, the two girls set out to spend the day together doing girl things while talking about Itachi. They finished breakfast, Sakura took a tour of the house, they did a little bit of shopping and promenading around the city until they finally returned to the estate where they commenced a miniature 'slumber party' at Midori's request.

"I'm surprised you didn't know that. How long have you known each other?" Sakura asked. She craned her neck a bit to look at her host while she braided her pink locks into a long French braid. Midori sighed dramatically as she ended the braid only to take it apart so she could brush Sakura's hair.

"Let me see…I am twenty now so I would say we have been acquainted for about ten years. At the time, my father was a rising politician and requested protection from the police force. Fugaku was assigned to be his body guard, he was training to be chief at the time." She explained. Sakura cringed at the mention of the big bowl of sunshine as Midori continued to brush her hair.

"Because of that I saw Itachi all the time. We attended the same school, went to the all the political events together, travelled with one another. But we never really connected the way I wanted us to. We were simply protector and the protected. It was a strictly platonic relationship even as we entered our adolescence years. I was not satisfied with that so I asked my father to have Itachi assigned as my permanent protector once he was old enough."

"Even that did nothing to improve our relationship. He still calls me Midori-sama, he does everything I ask him to and above. Yet, he can't do the one thing I want him to do." She rested her hands in her lap as she ceased brushing Sakura's hair. Sakura turned to face her with concerned etched across her face.

"Midori-sama," she whispered.

"I told you not to be so formal with me Sakura. At least not when it is just us two." She corrected her.

"Itachi's weird. I don't think he's capable of being in a relationship." She said.

"…How can you speak of him as if you know him so well? How could you learn in three weeks what I have been trying to find out in the ten years we've known each other? What are you doing that I am not?"

"Our relationships are different."

"He seems so relaxed around you. He even defended you against me at last Saturday's tea. How different could it be?" she asked in desperation.

"He's just looking out for me." Sakura lowered her gaze in consideration as she recalled the many conversations she had with the man and how he deemed it his duty to know every single detail about her. "He knows something about me that only a few people know and I guess he wanted to make this process as smooth as possible."

"I see. Are you in love him Sakura?" well that was very blunt.

"H-huh?" Sakura stuttered, her face turning a generous shade of red.

"You are blushing. Is that not a sign of affection? You are in love with him! That is not fair!" Midori cried, pulling at her pink strands in frustration.

"Midori, hold on a minute! I never said-"

"It is in your eyes Sakura! I see the same look in your eyes that is in my own." She exclaimed.

"But I don't-"

"Do not try to deny it!" Midori stood up on her feet, donned in frilly nightgown and robe, Sakura dressed in similar attire. "This is a declaration of war! I refuse to lose Itachi-kun to the likes of you, no offense I am quite fond of you actually." She added.

"Wha—fine. But I don't love him! I just uh, don't want to disrespect you that's all!" Sakura retorted, standing as well. Midori held out her hand for Sakura to shake with fiery determination hidden behind her deep green eyes. Sakura sighed exasperatedly as she met her hand with her and shook it.

"I will not lose to you Sakura."

"Right." Sweatdrop. Sakura smiled as she shook her hand. She had been so anxious about spending the day with her charge that it was driving her insane. She believed everything was going to go downhill at breakfast after her tiny outburst. She expected the woman to toss her out onto the streets or call the police on her or do something crazy. Who would've thought Itachi would bring them together like this.

'_I guess I'll have to thank him.'_ She hummed thoughtfully as she moved to brushed Midori's hair like hers had been. She was in mid stroke when everything suddenly became very dark. She couldn't see Midori in front of her, let alone the hand that had been holding the brush.

The electricity had gone out.

* * *

><p><strong>AN:** Cliffhanger! I am a terrible person, I know. I take weeks to update and when I do it's a cliffhanger. But you have to admit that this chapter is very interesting. Right? So let me give my little personal spiel before I start talking about this chapter. For those of you concerned with my pathetic little life, please read! Haha, so I started school two weeks ago. You know, moved away from home and all that jazz. I must say that it is great. College is amazing and the people are so nice it's hard to believe I'm still on earth. But I just have no time to work on stories between classes, homework, and hanging out with friends. Weekends are the best time for me so wish me luck. I want to finish this before November if at all possible.

Now for the chapter! Midori has a split personality! Kind of like Sakura right? A lot of you are probably wondering where Inner is, huh? Well, Sakura's so badass she doesn't need an inner, right? Haha I'll let you decide. Is Sakura in love with Itachi? And how does Itachi feel about her? We shall find out. Now! Why did the power go out? I'll also let you mull over that. I'm not telling you anything about the next chapter except that it shall be awesome and you won't want to miss it, okay?

My gratitude goes out to: **Ell-002, Echo Uchiha, xHoshiKuri, Angel Of Darkness And Light, Pillow-chan, ellessia, Analelle, CrackedUpAngel, RawrrIt'sMe, damaredesu, Zen Phoenix, jackie-chan1230, TeamTHEFT, LilBitzer, X.-Neko-Chan.x.X, Tsukuyomi'sBloodyBlossom, sasuyugi-jlover, inn0centdr3ameR, Sam0728, alphaladywolf, jayyee, Lorento, spiral head, AnimeXisXmyXstye, **and **Fushigi yuki!** We made it to 100 Story Alerts! ((throws confetti)) Remember to follow me on twitter guys! KrystalClear1!

See you in chapter 17!


	17. Chapter 17

"Got any fours?"

"Well wouldn't you like to know, heh."

"…"

"It's just a game don't be so serious, sheesh."

"You've been screwing around since we started!"

"That's because it's a game!"

"So? You keep killing the mood."

"Wow, you're getting a little creepy—what happened to the lights?"

"I'm not sure…looks like the electricity up at the house is out too. Call the guards by the-"

"…Toshiro? Call the guards by where? Oi-!"

"Now why don't you just sleep for a few hours, m'kay?" a sinister voice hissed as the last guard at the gates in front of the governor's estate was subdued and bound. Giving his partner a stern nod, they left the gate station to meet up with a small group of darkly clad figures further up the hill. They also completely their task of 'eliminating' security.

"All guards apprehended and accounted for?" a strong male voice called into a microphone hooked to his ear. A short confirmation affirmed his question as he motioned for the group of people to follow behind him as he walked up to the door. With the help of his fellow comrades already inside the building, they were able to gain access without a hitch. "Have all the maids and butlers been taken care of?"

"Hai." A feminine voice called. He smirked lightly. Things were falling into place, just like he had planned. It would only be a matter of time before the initial outcome of this mission would be decided. And he didn't plan on failing, not one bit.

They had scoped out the mansion beforehand and discovered all the nooks and crannies within the building that would allow them to have the highest rate of success in terms of where everything was placed and who would be where when the mission began. Guards were left bound and gagged at their posts. Maid and butlers were given the same treatment but were left in random broom closets and the like. What was even better was the fact that the governor himself was out of town on business. How convenient for him and his little group.

"You have ten seconds to get the girl before the power comes back on. It should be a fairly simply task, even if she struggles. Don't fail." He instructed one of the shorter operatives. Nodding submissively, the grunt sped up the steps of the estate with steps as light as feather. This particular agent was known for his stealth and ability to blend in with any and all surroundings at even given time. It was natural talent for him.

With lithe movements, he was able to make it down the hall and towards the room where Midori was said to be housed in. Without any hesitation in his movements, he opened the door with an innumerable amount of force and quickly shot in, searching blindly for the pink haired woman. He do not expect to see painful stars upon his entrance.

* * *

><p>In situations such as these, Sakura liked to think back to her recent training session with Shisui.<p>

"_From this day forth you will call me Shisui-sensei." He instructed her with a smug grin. She merely stared at him as if he was and idiot. And in her opinion that's exactly what he was. On days like these, when he was simply insufferable, Sakura often wondered why in the world Itachi would pick him of all people to be his best friend. Maybe it was out of his control._

"_No." was her stern reply. She barely called him by his government name instead resorting to calling him baka or teme on one of his harsher days. _

_Nonetheless, he seemed rather deflated at her reply as his shoulders slumped and he frowned deeply, which frankly looked rather weird on him. But to be honest she wasn't all that surprised. He was a bonafide goofball after all._

"_For some reason, I knew you were going to say that," was his reply. In her mind, Sakura wondered why he even asked to begin with, but whatever. "Don't worry, you'll get used to it. Moving on! Have you been practicing your kata, dear Sakura-chan?" he asked._

"_Hai." She called, suddenly standing at attention as he circled her much like a drill sergeant would. And she wasn't lying. She had been practicing her kata. Ever since Shisui had insisted she watch that ridiculous man in the green outfit, she had been practicing like it was going out of style._

_Not of her own accord, of course. Itachi made her. And he made her do the entire thing five times! He'd stand in the doorway of her room and watch her do it like the almost creep he was. It wasn't until she banged random body parts on the oddly placed dresser that he suggested she move to the front room where there was more space._

_On several occasions, she recalled Sasuke even joining just because he said it seemed interesting. She had her opinions about it that maybe Itachi asked him so that it'd seem less awkward when she did by herself. He always planned ahead like that, she mused. Moving on._

"_You have, huh? Well, let's see the fruits of your labor then."_

That's how they usually got started. He'd ask if she'd been practicing and he'd randomly attack her to goad the proper response. This was no different, except she was aiming to hurt the person before here. And that she did.

After instructing Midori to hide in the closet until she came for her, Sakura grabbed the heaviest thing she could find and situated herself behind the door in the darkened room and waited for the first intruder to make himself known. It wasn't long before the door swung open and in came a person donned in typically kidnapper attire. Sakura wasted no time in quickly knocking him to the ground before preceding to put him to sleep for a little while. She reacted quickly, knowing it wouldn't be long before one of his buddies popped up, wondering what happened to him. Just then, the lights flickered back on illuminating the once dark room.

But what was she supposed to do now? Just wait for intruder after intruder to appear at the door and just hit them with the expensive lamp until they were all unconscious?

Think, Sakura, think!

As much as she wished for it, time was definetly not on her side for yet another person appeared in the doorway, standing over her.

"Think you're hot stuff, huh? He was built for stealth anyway. Now be a good little captive and just come with me." It was yet another man who seemed to be under the assumption that she was weak and would automatically comply with his demands.

"_You're a woman, more importantly you're posing for the governors daughter. Anyone you come across who's trying to take you will initially underestimate you right off the bat." Shisui explained one day. At first she was offended by his comment, but it was true. "Use that to your advantage. The element of surprise is always on your side."_

Oh how right he was. Sakura let an invisible smirk come across her features as the man began to reach for her. She quickly side stepped him and positioned herself to deliver a strong kick to his side where he faltered slight, giving her a perplexed stare as she pivoted on her opposite leg and kicked him once again in the neck making him crumble all together. He staggered to the floor, holding his neck instinctively as if he hadn't been expecting such strong hits from a girl of her stature. Sakura used his moment of confusion to finish what she started by using her heel to quickly jab his temple, knocking him out.

So far so good. She positioned herself against the wall by the door and peaked around the corner to see if anyone was around. As far as she knew, the hall was empty, making it easy for her to make a clean get away. What was her objective? To make it to the a phone and call for help. She couldn't really think of anything else she could do at this point.

"_When you find yourself stuck in any kind of situation, just relax." Itachi instructed her. It was one of those evening when Shisui let her off early and she had time to talk with him. It was rare that these times ever happened so Sakura made certain to ask him all sorts of questions._

"_But what if the situation calls for a quick response?" she asked._

"_Relax quickly." He smirked._

"_Itachi…" she groaned. Of times for him to make a joke, he chose now._

"_Joking aside, would you rather be led by anxiety or adrenaline?" he asked._

"_What's the difference?" she asked._

"_Your anxiety derives from the feeling of being anxious or nervous about a situation while adrenaline is the inner drive that pushes one to succeed. That rush of adrenaline, or extra source of energy, comes in handy when you find yourself in a pinch." He said._

"_So in other words…"_

"_When all else fails just trust your instincts."_

While it sounded weird coming from Itachi, it made sense. And Sakura used that spur of memory to help decided on what to do next.

Once she was sure the hall was fairly clear she slid her way around the threshold of the door and poised herself tightly against the wall in order to make herself seem as discreet as possible, which was hard considering she was donned in a green light up against a marble colored wall. Still she pressed on.

As she neared the steps, she heard sounds of muffled voices. Her guess, they were other intruders. But why were there so many? Had they anticipated her being there to replace Midori and therefore planned to have enough people to apprehend her?

But her mission was top secret, no one was supposed to know.

"They're taking an awful long time up there." One of the voices commented.

"Oi, go check on them." Another instructed. She didn't hear anymore talking after that, just the sound of a pair of feet ascending the steps. Sakura crouched down low to the floor as her heart began to beat erratically.

This was the real deal and unlike the mission, Itachi and Shisui weren't here to assist her. So was all alone and Midori was depending on her to protect from the impending danger that came in the form of these kidnappers who had invaded the estate.

'_I can't flake now! I worked too hard to get to this point!'_ she affirmed in her mind. But she could've sworn she heard words of encouragement coming from the back of her head. Shaking it off, she got in position to attack as soon as the person got in clear view.

She had a plan and could hope that luck was on her side.

"Kami! How long does it take to grab one girl?" one of the men shouted as he waited at the bottom of the staircase. There was another standing with him who merely shrugged at the question.

"I'm not sending another one of you up there. Heck! We haven't even heard any noise since the first one went up there! If I don't see one of them in the next five seconds I'll-" at the moment, the last one he sent came bounding down the stairs in a very distressed manner.

"They're gone!" he exclaimed.

"What? What do you mean they're gone?" the man shouted. The other just stood on the side, gazing at the man who stood appeared. He looked different for some reason. The way he carried himself, even his voice. Something wasn't right.

"Dammit! This was not how the plan was-"

"Hold on." The other man chimed in. He grazed at the new arrival with narrowed eyes before speaking again. "You're not-!"

Before he could finish his sentence, a series of quick but effect blows were dealt to his abdomen and upper body leaving him stunned and in pain. The man standing by gaped from his position but quickly reacted, jumping on the traitor, put him in a head lock.

"Don't tell me you betrayed us? Of all times!" he grunted angrily as he tightened his grip.

"You can't betray someone when you were never on their side!" the 'man' jabbed his sharp elbow into the torso of the larger man in between words before positioning his body so he could heave him over his shoulder and onto the hard ground below.

Sakura removed her disguise before moving to tie up the captures. The one she stole the clothes happened to equipped with a large amount of rope that she was able to use to her disposal. After tying the knot, she backed up a bit to inspect her work.

So far so good, she thought. Breathing out a sigh of relief, her adrenaline rush began to simmer down. Just as her heart beat began to lessen, she felt her stomach lurch as if she were about to be sick. Just as she was about to grab her abdomen, she heard sounds of clapping.

Whipping her head to the left, she saw a fairly tall man approaching her, wearing a sinister smirk. He continued to clap as he walked closer and closer until he stopped about six from in front of her. He was disguised well, his face hidden from view. Yet, for some reason, Sakura though he looked vaguely familiar.

"Such an interesting show you've put on for us Midori, or is that really even you?" he chuckled darkly. Sakura narrowed her eyes as her feeling of queasiness ebbed itself away. From reason, she knew this man was no push over. Just by his mannerisms and the way he spoke, she knew he had to be the brains of this operation.

"I must apologize for my men. Surely they must have been ruthless in their attempts to capture you." He said. He almost sounded sincere. "I assure, I'll be much gentler if you come quietly."

"Like hell!" she shouted back. He looked taken aback by her response but merely laughed. Sakura gritted her teeth in anger.

"_When you're facing an opponent, some of the have the tendency to talk." Obito explained one afternoon. Both he and Sakura were seated in his office as he went over mission protocol for the umpteenth._

"_Talk? What do you mean?" she asked._

"_I mean they say things to goad you into fighting without using your head. It's more of taunting than anything else really." He said with a shrug._

"_Taunting huh?" she whispered. She recalled that happening to Naruto more often than not. Of course, the comments were often directed towards her and, well, if anyone ever looked at her cross they were bound to hear some words from the blonde._

"_The best thing to do in a situation like that is to ignore them." He earned a deadpanned look from the girl. "Hey! Don't give me that look! While it is a bit elementary there's much you can do in a situation like that. Well, you have two options, really." _

"_And what are those?" she asked._

"_You could ignore them, like I said. Or shut them up. I prefer to shut them up but that's just me." He shrugged with a grin._

"_I agree Obito-san."_

She had two options. Listen to this man attempt to rile her up, or find some way to get him to shut up. She went with the latter.

"Are you getting upset over there? Come now, we won't hurt you." He said.

"I know, you nor any of your man have laid a scratch on me." She smirked at that. She noticed the man's form stiffen at her words which only encouraged her to continue her own verbal assault. "You know those are some big words coming from someone who can't manage a simple kidnapping."

"Tch." He grunted angrily before dropping into a stance that looked vaguely familiar to the roseate. She narrowed her eyes at him before than began circling one another, wary of each other's actions. "Remember who you're speaking to."

"Why don't you remind me?" she was edging him on, she knew but at that moment she didn't really care. Just like Shisui had said, these men grossly underestimated her and it was about time she showed just what she was capable of.

In a split second, he charged in quickly nearly catching her off guard with his speed. Her eyes widened in shock as he shot his leg at her left side which she blocked. She winced at the force but managed to stay upright.

Reacting quickly, he pivoted and swung his other leg around which he ducked in the nick of time. Sakura then poised herself to punch him only for him to fall backwards into a backhand spring in order to dodge. She backed a good ways away from him as he gathered himself.

"Not bad." He grinned, dropping into his stance once more. This time it was Sakura's turn to come at him with a series of kicks and punches which he blocked with ease. She ground her teeth as she put all her force behind her next punch which managed to make contact with his left shoulder.

He grimaced at the pain and left himself open, if only for a moment, but that was all she needed. She proceeded to engage one of her kata in which she put her immense strength behind each of her hits. She breathed in a quick breath of air before going at it.

Lifting her right leg, she delivered a hard kick to his left side, then switched legs and shot the other up to his head. Noticing him falling to his right side, she shot her elbow up and jabbed him sharply. As she moved in for her next attack, she wasn't expecting him to counter and grab her arm.

He held a tight grip on her person and as she fought to get away, he was seeking revenge for her previous assault. With full force, he tugged her from the center of the room and knocked her in the wall. She became disoriented with the wind knocked out of her that she barely had enough sense to dodge the punch that was aimed at her head.

"_Sometimes dodging is all you can do." Shisui recalled as he and Sakura sat on the gym floor with their bottles of water scattered before them. Sakura had her knees up to her chest as listened to him. She was having some trouble with their training session so he decided it was time for a break._

"_Yea but just dodging gets frustrating." She huffed._

"_Trust me, I know. But there's method to the madness young Sakura-chan." He grinned before ruffling her hair and standing. Sakura followed and copied the stance he dropped it. "For this next exercise I just want you to dodge."_

"_For the entire exercise?" she asked._

"_Aa. Ready?" She nodded as he came at her quickly, throwing kick after punch, all in random sequences. _

_The moved all about the gym floor. At one point he had her pinned against the wall where her only option was to just dodge. About ten minutes into it, she noticed his movement slowing down a bit but he was still fairly fast. In the midst of ducking a kick she came to understand what he was saying._

"_I think I get it." She said._

"_Do you now?" he asked with a grin._

"_While dodging does exert more effort, it takes twice as much energy to continue to attack."_

"_Ah ha! Congratulations my young pupil!" he exclaimed._

"_You know, you sound a lot like that workout video guy." She commented. He turned considerably green for some reason._

With a new resolve, Sakura set out to dodge every attack he threw at her. Which wasn't that easy of a feet. He was fast and was set on hitting her that it took everything in her power to stay away from those painful limbs of his.

"What's wrong? Did you get scared all of the sudden?" he asked, in a taunting matter. Sakura set her mouth in a firm line while moving back in forth between each of his hits. She watched him closely, analyzing each other his moments and estimating his next method of attacking. He didn't really have a specific rhythm that she could follow but she tried her best to predict his movements.

"You talk too much." She spat. He narrowed his gaze at her. Something in her reply struck something within him. Without enough time to escape, he launched a heavy punch at her front which she managed to block with her arms crossed in front of her. The force of the impact sent her sprawling backwards.

She recovered by rolling onto her stomach and somersaulting away from him. Try as she might she couldn't ignore the agonizing pain coursing through her forearm. She grimaced at the feeling knowing it would leave a pretty nasty bruise. Pushing that aside, she focused on her opponent who looked worse for the wear.

He was breathing heavily as his chest heaved up and down. His stance looked more relaxed than it had when they first began. She wearing him down and it was only a matter of time before she would be able to take him down.

"What's wrong?" she asked in a mocking tone as she circled his form. "Did you get tired all of the sudden?" he growled, clenching his fists in anger. Sakura frowned deeply before taking a few quick breaths. The fighting continued as she charged at him, hitting all the sensitive areas and leaving him wincing in response.

He nicked her a couple of times in the back and shoulders which proved to be very painful. She recalled her previous encounter with the back wall and it wasn't a pleasant one. She ground her teeth in frustration. This man was good, maybe as good as Shisui. Could she really defeat him?

"I didn't want to resort to this since you are a female. But I'm tired of playing games with you, girl!" Sakura was the glint of silver before she heard any words come out of his mouth. She immediately blanched and cautiously backed away from him. She never did weapons training, nor did Shisui ever tell her what to do when faced with an opponent who was armed.

The man grinned maliciously before speeding towards her with his blade outstretched. Sakura deepened her stance as he approached. She only had one shot at this, and if she planned it right, the blade would be out of his control. Her left leg twitched as he inched over closer to her location in the room.

'_It's now or never!'_ at the last second, when it seemed as if he was about to stab her, Sakura launched her leg at his hand and knocked his arms away effectively loosening his grip on the blade and sending it soaring across the floor. But it came at a price. The blade managed to slice a lengthy portion of her lower leg causing her to wince. Still, she had press on. She followed up the hit with a roundhouse kick to face that left her with a satisfying crack and her opponent on the floor.

She backed away in case he decided to jump up suddenly, but a few groans and twists and she was sure he was down for the count. Still, just to be safe she couldn't just leave him on the floor like this. He, too, was equipped with a substantial amount of rope just like his partners. Sakura tied him up tightly and secured him against the bannister of the staircase.

Sighing in relief that the battle seemed to be over, she dashed up the steps and into the room she and Midori had been in just to see if she was all right. She staggered a bit as she entered the hallway and managed to lean onto the wall for support.

'_I just have to see if she's all right…'_ she thought to herself. If she could just make it to that closet, she'd be all right.

However, an alarm sounded before she even got within feet of the room. She jumped at the sound and immediately pressed herself up against the wall. Without warning, the intruders who she though were tied up left the room, seemingly unscathed and approached her without hesitation.

Her heart was beating tenfold at their sudden appearance. She knew for a fact that the last fight took every ounce of her strength and she certainly couldn't handle another one. She growled apprehensively as they got closer. Then the unexpected happened.

They shed their disguises before her and she noticed smiles on each of their faces. Her attention was then drawn to the staircase where the others emerged, shedding the ropes, and masks with smiles as well. She was genuinely confused.

It wasn't until she heard the sound of familiar laughter that she calmed down. Out of nowhere, Shisui came bounding up the stairs and ran up to her with the biggest grin she had ever seen on his face.

"Congratulations Sakura-chan!" he shouted. She looked at him with surprised green eyes as all the other bodies surrounding them clapped in agreement. She looked on with shocked eyes as a veil of confusion covered the forefronts of her mind.

"Sh-Shisui? What?" she asked. He chuckled as he placed both of his hands on her shoulders.

"This was merely a test." He explained. "All the people you fought tonight work for the police force."

"A…a test? But…! But I…thought…" her voice faltered. He shook his head while gripping her shoulder tightly.

"Had this been a regular exercise, you probably wouldn't of taken it as seriously." He said. Sakura visibly relaxed, letting her head fall into his chest due to fatigue.

"Kami, I thought I was going to have a heart attack…" he smiled and gave her a hearty pat on the back.

"You did good Sakura-chan. I'm proud of you."

* * *

><p><strong>AN:** This is a really awkward place to end it but I don't care! I'm just glad to get this chapter out of here! Gosh! This was soooo hard! I hate describing fighting scene because I feel like I have absolutely no idea what I'm talking about. It's safe to say I bullshitted more than half this chapter so I apologize if it sucks…smh

Moving on! This chapter was difficult and I'm sorry it took so long but I think it was necessary and show Sakura's growth so far. You can see how her relationships have developed with the Uchiha's and how she has progressed physically and mentally with her training. Now here's a warning, her attachment to them will be a problem in the future so be on the lookout for that. For those of you that guessed this was Kakashi's test…congratulations! You're correct! I'm just sorry for leaving you with this almost 4 month long cliffhanger. Hopefully with will suffice you for a good long while.

Special thanks go to: **Echo Uchiha, ObjectedPrincess, StayDreaming, sweet-cookie, Ell-002, inn0centdr3ameR, Naz-G, ms. greenvalentine, VampireTwin234, CrackedUpAngel, mishuu, Readalot-TMB, loveduckpig, LutiBaby, Nellychan19, Ninja-ass-betch, Fushigi yuki, iamRAWRkaythanks, cat-tastic, , TsukiNokoOokami, inuyashamistress25, ToxicLove7, LightYew103, jumper2151, Sanjou Sakurako, Quintrala, Mewmewpowergirl12, Ruza-chan, crawfishlova, sexyxox849, Rhonda21, Lacrimis Ignis, animeXtenshiXhime829, heya, **and** roseleana12.**

I'm stressed out beyond belief. But you know what? I'm happy that this chapter finally got off the ground. Our next objective (or mines anyway) is to update again before the weekend is up. I have time otherwise until Christmas break, which isn't that far but I feel like I've made you all wait long enough. I apologize if this chapter is full of mistakes. I really don't feel like reading over it because I'm tired. Haha!

Thank you so much for all your support. Please continue reading and drop a review!

Krystal


	18. Chapter 18

"Pick up the pace Sakura-chan! No slacking!" Shisui yelled across the field as Sakura went through her daily lap routine around the track. She laughed as hearty breaths came in and out of her chest, her arms swinging back and forth while her legs pumped repeatedly.

"Who's slacking, sensei?" she sneered while sticking her tongue out as she passed him. Shisui could only shake his head humorously as he watched her run. She had improved a lot since her first day of training with him. And even he couldn't say that it was solely due to her time with him. It was a collective influence from all the people she worked with over the course of these three and a half weeks.

"Don't' get cocky just because you passed that test!" he shouted back.

"I won't!" he smiled as he watched her finish off her last lap and begin her stretches. Sensing someone behind him, he grinned as his younger cousin joined him on the sidelines dressed in his usual attire with the sleeves of his shirt rolled up.

"She's come a long way, huh?" Shisui started the conversation.

"Aa." He said, his eyes on the pinkette as well.

"Any news from old man Obito?" he asked, taking a seat on the grass below, his elbows resting atop his knees.

"Kakashi has agreed to participate but wants to keep his identity a secret from Sakura until the end." He explained. Sakura turned to face Shisui as she wiped some lingering sweat from her brow. She noticed Itachi standing beside him and gave a small wave at his appearance. He returned the gesture with a nod.

"Eh? Why would he do that?" Shisui asked.

"He feels his presence will affect her and jeopardize the mission." Shisui nodded before lying back on the grass, staring up at the bright sky above. A few clouds lingered by as a cool breeze swept passed them. It was getting warmer out, he noticed.

"The month's almost over." He commented lightly.

"Aa. We only have a few more days." Itachi added.

"You nervous?" Shisui teased. But Itachi didn't answer. He merely gazed at Sakura as she finished her stretches and started a set of pushups. Shisui sat up at his cousin's sudden silence and followed his gaze to the young girl on the track.

He'd known Itachi since they were very small and prided himself in the fact that he probably knew more about him than anyone, save for Aunty Mikoto. And there was one thing about Itachi that Shisui was impressed with, his ability to keep his cool in any and every situation. No matter what it was, Itachi always remained calm. Whether Sasuke was _attempting_ to bother him or whether a girl was making a pass at him; Itachi remained the same.

But these last few weeks, he's seen a change in the man. Not drastic by any means, but noticeable by his standards. Ever since Sakura entered their lives, Itachi has been different. He gets into this weird mode whenever she's around. He's only ever seen him be so hard and stern on Sasuke and that's because he genuinely cares for the boy. He's the exact same way with Sakura. And because he's never seen Itachi interact with the opposite sex of his own free will he can't tell whether it's a sibling thing or something a little more complex than that.

One thing's for sure, though, Itachi has never made a face of apprehension before. Shisui could only look on with a concerned expression. If Itachi was troubled then everyone ought to be troubled. It was unsettling.

Unbeknownst to Shisui and the rest of the world, Itachi was nervous about something completely different.

Itachi retreated back to his office and sat down in his chair with a heavy sigh. He rested his head in his palms and looked down at the mahogany surface below. To be dreadfully honest, he was nervous about the upcoming events. Not the success of the mission, heavens no. He'd been sure of their success since the very beginning.

No, his anxiety came in the form of a pink-haired seventeen year old. And he was downright embarrassed to talk about it or even attempt to rectify the situation. Why? Well it was something he had never dealt with before. Sure he had woman approach him, explaining and expression their feelings towards him but it was never the other way around. Especially not with some who was nearly four years younger than him.

'_This cannot be happening. I can't, I won't. Not with Sakura.'_ He quickly shook his head and released any and all thoughts of his current predicament and tried to focus on something else. But every time he did, his mind always went back to her. He groaned. Just what was it about her that caught his attention?

It wasn't physical, even though she was quite pretty, he mused. Maybe it was her defiant attitude, and how no matter what she refused to ask for his help.

He could only smirk at that.

All his life, people had been asking of things from him. Whether it was his attention, his assistance, his money, or his affections. It never ceased to amaze him how needy the world was. And then he met her. Someone who probably needed more help than the entire police force put together and she was hard pressed to accept any of it. She was so stubborn and unwilling to cooperate and it was frustrating, yet refreshing as well.

Her appearance brought a new atmosphere and he was dreading the upcoming mission. That meant she'd be leaving and Itachi couldn't bear to fathom the thought. It was unsettling to imagine life without her. He wouldn't say he was in love with the girl, be he held some sort of foreign attachment towards her. This odd sense of wanting and needing to protect her all the time. He sighed once more with a strange smile on his face.

Haruno Sakura had affected him like no other.

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><p>It was late when Sai happened upon ROOT's base of operation. Early on in the week he had received a message from Danzo, requesting his presence. Normally Sai wouldn't be nervous about something like meeting with his superior, but something was making him anxious for some reason and he couldn't put a name on it. Still, he went on despite his nervous feeling and dismissed an all too happy Naruto to go about his business.<p>

He entered the building silently as he passed by members whose names he didn't care to recall. Danzo's office was in the basement, situated towards the back so it was fairly dark when he entered. Sitting behind the old desk was Danzo himself, his fingers laced together and gaze forward as he stared at Sai through dark eyes. The boy averted his gaze when he noticed an unknown figure standing beside his leader.

"You wished to see me, Danzo-sama?" he crouched in salute to the man. Danzo motioned for him to stand.

"Sai, I trust you have the Uzumaki boy under control." He started.

"Hai Danzo-sama. I have been watching him just as you have asked." Sai answered simply. Danzo gave a slight grunt in acknowledgement. Sai looked on silently but let his eyes fall on the person standing beside him, almost blending in with the background. There was something foreboding about this stranger and Sai could only narrow his eyes in suspicion.

"Very well. This is Gen, ROOT's newest member." Danzo introduced him. Gen bowed silently, a mask covering his face as he did so. This only increased Sai's suspicion of the man. "He will prove to be useful within the next few days."

"I see," Sai replied, letting a fake smile come across his features. "Welcome Gen-san."

"He has inner connections with those in Suna and will increase the mission's success. I trust you will get along with him." Danzo seemed to catch onto Sai's wariness off the man.

"Of course, Danzo-sama." With that, Sai took his leave but he couldn't say that he felt any better leaving than he did coming. If anything he felt worse. This Gen person was strange. But if Danzo trusted him then he had no choice but to do so as well. Still he wasn't going to let this feeling pass. He rarely relied on his guts instincts but this time was different, he mused.

Something simply wasn't right.

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><p><strong>AN:** It's short isn't it! Almost as short as the first chapter! Haha, well there's a reason for that because I have a surprise waiting for you at the bottom! It's an omake! Yay! I've never done one before but it's my little gift to you guys in case I don't update before Christmas.

So! This chapter we got to hear from Shisui, Itachi, and Sai. I thought it was quite interesting, ne? Shisui, being Itachi's best friend, is beginning to notice changes in the guy and he thinks it's about the mission. While Itachi is battling the upcoming separation from his dear Sakura-chan. And Sai is wary of ROOT's newest member! Gasp! I really hope I'm not giving away too much of the story. I have a really bad habit of giving my readers too many hints and I feel as if it ruins the story for you guys if you know what's going on. But I want to know if you guys know who Gen is!

Special thanks goes out to: **TheBlackRose123, RoseCallisto, asparkofhope, Ell-002, Black snake eyes, Dawnshadow1228, LILSakura, namelessanomoly, Blood-Gaara-Blood, inn0centdr3ameR****, ****ZephyrPhoenix**** , ****kerrydwen, AkatsukiUchihaGirl44, ****Lady Lauren, lyndark, beebee7, UglyyTruth, **and** M'ee'gann.** -sigh- You guys make my day.

I'm a little ashamed at the fact that this omake is longer than the actual chapter but once I got started I couldn't stop myself and I was already at 2,000 words. Haha, so please enjoy it and give me some feedback! Thanks so much!

* * *

><p>Punk to Princess Omake<p>

Snowball Fights

Ah Konoha, in all its glory, rested quietly as beautiful white snowflakes fell from the cloudy sky. It left a soft blanket of ivory along the busy streets of the city leaving some folks in awe and others just pissed off. But who doesn't like snow, right? It's fluffy, pretty, it's cold, and soft, and just plain wonderful! You'd have to be out of your mind to hate snow!

That must mean that Sakura is out of her mind then. The young pinkette stared miserably out the window at the falling snow on this late Saturday afternoon. She blew up her bangs with huff before slipping away from the sill and sitting with her back to the wall. Bringing her knees up to her chest, she began to pout even more.

Now why in the world would Sakura be so opposed to snow, you might wonder. Well, even I'm not really that sure as to why.

"Yo," Sasuke called from the doorway. She raised her eyes to his figure and sucked in a sharp breath as they widened. He was donned in snow gear from top to bottom and looked outright ridiculous in it. Her cheeks turned an odd shade of maroon as she fought to hold her laughter in. He visibly narrowed his eyes at her but couldn't help the twitching of his own lips.

"Isn't he cute, Sakura-chan?" Shisui appeared behind him, placing an annoying hand on his head, ruffling his dark locks. Sasuke swiped his hand away in angry grunt before looking off down the hall. With a sigh, Sakura stood and approached the curly haired man with a half-smile on her face. He too was dressed quite warmly and didn't seem too perturbed by the fact that he looked silly.

"What's going on?" she asked.

"Duh, we're going to play in the snow!" he exclaimed. Sakura arched a brow at his declaration.

"Really?" she asked in awe. Never in a million years would she have imagined Shisui and Sasuke, of all people, actually wanting to play in the snow.

"Me and the little jerk here have a score to settle." The older Uchiha added, grabbing poor Sasuke in a friendly headlock. Sasuke struggled as they both trudged down the hall. Sakura stood rooted in her spot, utterly surprised by the recent display until another form grabbed her attention. Itachi passed by her door, tying a dark scarf around his neck as he went.

"Itachi! Don't tell me you're going too?" she shouted in shock. He merely gave her a content expression as he finished buttoning his lengthy coat.

"I'm merely going to make sure Shisui doesn't murder Sasuke. He has the tendency to go overboard with the size of his snowballs." He said. Sakura nodded robotically, still not fully understanding what was going on. "You should come as well."

"H-huh? What for?" she asked, her brows furrowed.

"A little enjoyment. You've been looking rather depressed these days." He said. Sakura's strong disposition faltered at that. Leave it to Itachi to notice any and all the moods she was in. She let her shoulders slump as she looked at him with conflicting green eyes. "Well?"

"Fine." She gave in. He nodded with a small smile as he continued down the hall. Sakura closed her door with a huff as she got dressed for the bitter cold. She told herself that she hated the snow, despised it with every fiber of her being. Yet here she was layering shirt after shirt, with gloves and hats and a coat picked out especially for her. By George, she was a changed woman.

Stepping outside, she was immediately faced with a crisp, cold breeze that swept by her. Looking around the backyard, she spotted Sasuke and Shisui already deeply engrossed in snowball warfare. Shisui was busy building a fort while Sasuke was stocking his arsenal of snowballs. It was kind of amusing to watch, she mused. Looking to her left she noticed Itachi brushing off one of the patio chairs before taking a seat in order to watch the show.

"Are you going to participate, Sakura?" he asked, unscrewing the cap to a thermos filled with what she assumed was hot chocolate.

"No, why would I?" she asked, her arms crossed over her chest. Itachi merely chuckled lightly at her expression as he gazed at his brother and cousin fire endless snowballs at one another. Shisui went as far as somersaulting and shooting a snowball right in Sasuke's face. He always was rather dramatic.

Sakura giggled as the cold substance slid down Sasuke's face resulting in a deep frown which soon turned into a dark smirk as he quickly circled the backyard, a hearty amount of snowballs cradled in his left arm. Sakura had to admit, this was pretty entertaining. Of course Sasuke wasn't nearly fast enough to catch the other Uchiha but managed to hit his ankle and lower leg. He quickly returned to his own base of operation to restock his snowball supply while Shisui busied himself with throwing a seemingly endless amount of snow at the boy.

Unbeknownst to his cousin, he had stowed away one last snowball as a last resort, waiting to use it at the last moment. Shisui had a habit of throwing all he had, ducking behind his fort to make more, and throwing those. But little Sasuke had caught onto his little routine, oh yes he did. Just as Shisui rose from his snowball making a pack of slush hit him square in his face, propelling him backwards. Sasuke cheered in success as he retreated to his own fort.

"Nice shot Sasuke." Itachi commented from the sides. He had already poured hot chocolate for Sakura and himself as the battle ensued. Sakura erupted in loud melodious laughter when Shisui was knocked over. It was the funniest thing in the world to her.

At the sound, Shisui turned his spot on aim at the unsuspecting pinkette. Ignoring a warning glance from Itachi, he shot the snowball at the girl, effectively knocking the styrofoam cup from her hands. He smiled triumphantly at the sight while Itachi sighed and Sasuke looked at him like he was insane.

"That'll teach you to laugh at me!" he shouted from across the yard. Sakura remained still, staring at the hot brown liquid as it spread out across the patio floor. It was some good hot chocolate, and now it's gone. Her fists shook at her sides as her anger began to rise. Itachi remained completely still and just waited for her burst of anger.

"Sakura, he's an-"

"Idiot! You're gonna pay!" and that's how Sakura got in on the action. Sasuke managed to convince her to join his side, effectively increasing the size of their fort and the amount of snowballs they had. He watched in awe as the pinkette clumped ball after ball together, each perfect in size. He picked up one and smirked at how well it fit in his hand. Victory was theirs.

"Two against one isn't fair!" Shisui pouted in protest. "Itachi!" Said Uchiha merely ignored him while letting a small smirk come across his face. He was so amused at Shisui's predicament that he barely noticed how Sakura had snuck away from the fort and into the trees. Shisui was too busy dodging the ones Sasuke was hurling his way to catch the flash of pink dashing through the foliage.

'_He taught her too well,'_ he mused as he sipped on his hot chocolate, with extra marshmallows.

So far so good, Sakura had managed to go unnoticed amidst the trees with a generous amount of the snowballs in her possession. She positioned herself right behind Shisui, all she had to do was wait for Sasuke's signal, and she could begin her onslaught. Three snowballs; two straight and one aerial as a distraction. It was only a matter of time now.

There it was!

Heart beating erratically, Sakura began her attack. All aimed at the back of his head, Sakura launched ball after ball until the Uchiha was left in a fetal position to protect himself.

"You give up?" Sakura asked as both she and Sasuke stood over him, triumphantly.

"Heh, you guys got me good. But it's not good enough!" laughing maniacally, Shisui pulled a long rope that was attached to a tree branch above them and huge piles of snow rained down on them endlessly. The only thing Sakura could hear was Shisui's boisterous laughter as she fought her way through it. Finally she reached the top, face frozen stiff and body as cold as ever. She looked to the side to see Sasuke pouting and Shisui with a victorious smile on his face.

"Cheater. You cheated!" Sasuke grumbled as they climbed out of the pile. Shisui merely scoffed at his baby cousin as he twisted himself free.

"It's not cheating, young grasshopper. It's called using your resources."

"Hn." In the midst of their conversation, Sakura found herself struggling to get free. She grunted angrily while turning effortlessly to breakthrough but it was simply no use.

"H-hey! Help me out of here!" she shouted. But by that time, they were too engrossed in their strategies versus cheating argument to care about poor little Sakura who was stuck in the snow. She whimpered slightly as they got further and further away, reaching out her one free hand towards them. "Guys…!"

"Sakura…" startled, she whipped her head to the side and spotted Itachi standing next to the pile, looking down on her with an odd expression.

"Itachi! Help me!" she asked, reaching for him. But he didn't move, he just stared at her. That is, until he began to laugh. And by golly, Sakura thought the world was going to end because Itachi never laughed at anything. The most she got out of him was a light chuckle here and there, a smile, or maybe even a grunt of satisfaction. But never ever a laugh. "W-wha? Don't laugh!"

"I apologize. Here," With that, he easily heaved her out of the pile and she landed, none too gracefully into his chest, face first. She had no idea why he picked her up like that, or why he decided to wrap an arm around her back but she felt undeniably warm and didn't want to move from this spot. She sighed in relief at the sensation and had to fight back to the urge to snuggle against him. "I see you're still as clumsy as ever. I thought you had improved."

"I-I…that's not fair! You make me nervous." She admitted while reluctantly slipping away from his grasp.

"Nervous?"

"Don't act surprised! You know it's true." She laughed as they walked up the steps to the patio. Itachi collected his thermos as Sakura slid open the door and stepped inside the warmth infested house.

"I have no idea what you're talking about Sakura." He replied with a knowing smirk. "How could I make you nervous?"

"Because you…you're so perfect!" they were now standing in the hall where they deposited their coats in the closet. Itachi arched a brow at her which caused her to falter, shuffling nervously in her spot. "A-and I don't want to mess up in front of you."

"Sakura," he started. She bit her lip as she looked up at his expression and her blush increased.

"You don't have to look at me like that." She mumbled grumpily. "You probably think it's silly." Laughing bitterly, Sakura turned to walk down the hall to her room. But Itachi was quick to grab her wrist and pull her back. She froze and slowly turned to face him, his expression and eyes soft while the grip on her wrist loosened.

"It was never my intention to make you feel nervous. And I don't think it's silly." He said. Sakura scoffed at that.

"Oh yeah? Then…what do you think it is?" It was silent between them after that. Itachi still had hold on her and it became painfully obvious to the pinkette as time ticked on. What was he waiting for? Why was it taking him so long to answer?

"I think it's-"

"Yo! Where's my hot chocolate!" Shisui came bursting into the hall, prompting Itachi to let go and Sakura to finally retreat into her bedroom. Itachi sighed as he watched her go, sending Shisui a heavy glare in the process. "What?"

Later on that night Sakura exited her bathroom, donned in a towel while another rested on her head. She quickly dressed herself in thermal nightwear and sat on the bed as she towel dried her hair. She let her thoughts roam free while working the towel through her pink locks and ending up sighing contently. It had been a good day, despite her loathing of the snow. Maybe she would come to like it someday.

Sighing once, she rested her back against the headboard and gazed up at the ceiling. Out of the corner of her eye she noticed a folded piece of paper sitting on her nightstand, next to the alarm clock. Curious, she picked it up and opened it cautiously. It was in Itachi's handwriting. Looking over the words on the note, a blush crept upon her cheeks as she smiled, bringing her knees up to her chest. She giggled lightly while continuing to dry her hair.

Yep, she'd come to like it someday.

_I think it's cute._

_FIN_

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><p>See you in chapter 19!<p> 


	19. Chapter 19

"_Oh Sakura-chan, look at you." Shouko groaned as her eyes fell upon the figure of her young daughter standing under the threshold of their backdoor. Said girl was covered with dirt and various scratches. She looked a mess, no questions asked. And Shouko was clearly fed up with her daughter's tomboyish tendencies. "How'd you get so dirty?"_

_Little Sakura's eyes lit up with excitement as she went about explaining to her mother how, as a princess, getting down and dirty like her subjects was necessary and Shouko was utterly surprised by the level of incite the little one possessed. All she could do was chuckle lightly as she ushered her into the bedroom and into a fresh change of clothes._

"_Kaa-san, is tou-san coming today?" Sakura asked as she sat on the mattress while Shouko restyled her curly pigtails. Shouko sighed lightly as she finished and rested her hands in her lap. Her father had always been a touchy subject, especially since he decided that he wanted a second chance. Things were beginning to look up, if only for a moment and Shouko didn't want to disappoint her at all._

"_Hai, he'll be here soon. Tou-san promised to take you out, didn't he?" her mother said. She nodded slowly, not entirely sure how she felt about seeing her father. He'd been gone a lot more often now that they had moved out of their old house. There was one point in time when she hadn't seen nor heard from him in a good three months. Even though he hurt kaa-san, and that was wrong, she still missed him._

"_I hope he's okay." She whispered as she slid off the bed and trotted into her own bedroom. She sat on her bed and fiddled with her fingers nervously while her legs kicked back and forth. The wait was making her nervous._

_TAP TAP_

_Looking towards her window, Sakura's eye caught onto a glimpse of silver causing her suspicions to rise. Hopping off the bed she made her way towards the window where Kakashi's face suddenly appeared out of nowhere. Her face visibly lit up at his appearance as she tugged the window open and welcomed him inside._

"_Kaka-!" he shushed her as he climbed inside quietly. "Kaka-niichan, what are you doing here?" she whispered quietly. Kakashi shut the window closed behind him as he crouched down to Sakura's level with mischief in his dark eyes._

"_I came to surprise you and your mother." He said, his eyes crinkled in delight. Sakura's face lit up with joy at his words but slightly fell once she realized what his presence could possibly mean._

"_Demo, tou-san's coming soon." Kakashi visibly tensed up at the mention of her father. He could tell by her distraught expression that his being here could pose a problem. But at the moment he didn't care. He didn't come to see that man nor did he wish to. Being a part of the police force didn't make him exempt from going to jail for murder. Besides, it would hurt Sakura and he'd rather die than do that._

"_Don't worry, Sakura-chan. Everything's going to be fine." He reassured her with a hidden smile. Biting her lip nervously, Sakura nodded. She wrapped her tiny arms around his neck and buried her head in his neck as she curled up against him._

"_I missed you Kaka-niichan." His eyes softened at her words as he wrapped his arms around her small form tightly. He wished with all of his might to get her out of this situation. He did care for Shouko but she was just now beginning to see how Hiro negatively was affecting her daughter. He sighed and rubbed slow circles on her back as she trembled slightly. He'd do everything within his power to keep her safe and out of harm's way._

"_I missed you too." With that he pulled back, planted a kiss on her forehead and picked her up as he stood. "Now let's go surprise kaa-san, hm?" she nodded mutely while resting her head against his shoulder._

_They found her in the kitchen cleaning up with an apron on and her long red hair tied up. At the sound of his footsteps, she looked up from the counter and stared at him with wide grey eyes._

"_Kakashi? What-? How'd you-?" she was at a loss for words and he could only grin in response. Setting Sakura down on the floor he placed a hand on her shoulder._

"_It's good to see you Shouko." She chuckled lightly before shaking her head._

"_Still visiting unannounced, I see. It's good to see you as well." And she smiled. And Kakashi realized that he missed her smile. There were a lot of things he missed about her but he wouldn't voice his concerns. She'd only say that he was living in the past and laugh him off. He returned her smile with a bitter one as his gaze fell on little Sakura who squeezed his hand and peered up at him with a smile._

"_So what brings you over to this part of town Kakashi?" she asked while busying herself with heating water for tea. Kakashi sat down at the table in the kitchen as he watched her work._

"_Just thought I'd come see how you were doing." He said. Shouko nodded. A few minutes later she sat two steaming cups on the table and pulled up a chair across him as the conversed._

"_We've being doing all right. Sakura's back in school, I'm working again and Hiro…he says he's changed but…" her voice trailed off as she gazed at her daughter playing with her toys on the floor._

"_Can you see a difference?" he asked. She sighed._

"_Barely. I finally got him to believe that Sakura is his, though." She laughed bitterly. _

"_Shouko," he whispered worriedly._

"_You were right. I didn't want to believe it, but you were right. I know he really cares about Sakura but the way he is now, he's just not-"_

_DING DONG_

_Sakura froze. She looked up from her toys to see her mother stiffen and Kakashi as well. Shouko stood as she excused herself from the table and went to open the door. Sakura walked over to Kakashi as she gripped her dress tightly in her hands._

"_Be good Sakura-chan." He ruffled her pink locks under his hand._

"_Hai. Are you going to come back to see us, Kaka-niichan?" she asked hopefully. _

"_Of course." His eyes creased at her. He stood and led her into the front room where Hiro stood, talking with Shouko under hushed tones. The other man's gaze quickly fell onto Kakashi who held a tight grip on the pinkette._

"_What's he doing here, Shouko?" he asked, his eyes narrowing._

"_He just came by to visit. Don't cause a scene in front of Sakura." She glared at him. Hiro reluctantly agreed before smiling at Sakura who looked at him nervously. "Come on honey, tou-san's here to pick you up."_

"_Ready to go, hime-chan?" he crouched down when Sakura stood before him. Her eyes averted downwards as she fiddled with her dress. She was nervous, he could tell that much but he couldn't blame her. He had a hell of a lot of making up to do to her. But he was grateful that she still wished to see him after all he had done to her and Shouko._

"_H-hai tou-san." He nodded, took her hand and without a second glance at Shouko or her house guest, he closed the door behind him._

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><p>Sakura jumped awake, heart beating quickly as her eyes scanned her slightly dark surroundings. Why in the world did she have such a dream? Sure her parents had been on her mind a lot lately, even Kakashi. But that dream, it was just like a memory. She didn't understand it all. Sighing, she got out of bed and got dressed for the day.<p>

Around fifteen minutes later she entered the kitchen and sat herself next to Sasuke who was busy working on what looked like a last minute homework assignment. As Itachi cooked breakfast, Sakura couldn't help but hear the younger Uchiha groan in frustration every few seconds and it was kind of annoying her.

"Nii-san!" he whined, which Sakura found to be surprising yet amusing as well. Itachi gave him a sideward glance as he looked up from the stove.

"Hn?" he answered.

"Help me." He grumbled. Itachi sighed.

"I told you ask your teacher for help. It's about time you learned to swallow your pride." Was his response. Sasuke sucked his teeth as he threw his pencil on the countertop.

"I'm asking you, aren't I?" Sasuke replied.

"I refuse to do high school level math. It is beneath me." Sakura could literally feel him smirking from all the way across the room. She gave Sasuke a sympathetic look as he slumped in his chair, his hand fisting a handful of dark locks. She pursed her lips slightly. Maybe she could help, granted she'd been out of school for roughly a year and a half but her teachers did praise her for being bright.

"Let me see." She snatched his paper away and gave it a once over. At first the numbers and symbols confused her to no end until it all came crawling back to her. Eyes scanning over the page, she remembered nearly everything she learned during her high school career. "Oh, I see."

"What?" Sasuke asked. He was somewhat bothered that Sakura, of all people, understood his math work better than he did. She went onto explain everything about the problem that he didn't understand until he had an 'Ah ha!' moment and grabbed the paper back. He jotted down everything see she said while it was still fresh on his mind.

Just as he finished the last problem, his brother sat down the breakfast in front of him and a silent but proud Sakura. He looked up to see Itachi giving him a knowing glance causing Sasuke to grumble, averting his gaze. He stiffened at the sight of that all too familiar spoon before rolling his eyes.

"Arigatou, Sakura." It was so hushed and rushed that Sakura barely heard it. She paused, in mid bite, a stared at the younger Uchiha with wide green eyes before looking down at her food, confused. The only person whoever thanked her was Naruto and he thanked everybody whoever helped him. Heck, he'd thank the sun for shining, personally, if he could. It was strange hearing it coming from someone else.

"A-ah, sure. No problem." She replied, focusing back on breakfast. Itachi watched her from the sidelines. Her reaction to Sasuke's gratitude was similar to any kind of praise Shisui would give her. It was as if she couldn't handle it. He also paid attention to how quickly she was able to aid Sasuke with math that she hadn't seen for months.

Mulling over his thoughts, Itachi cleaned up the kitchen and prepared himself for yet another hard day at work. The banquet was quickly approaching them and with that came horrid amounts of paper work that he had to fill out since he was in charge of the mission. He sighed, wiping his hands on a towel before retreating back to his bedroom, leaving Sasuke and Sakura to their silence.

It was Thursday, meaning they had one full day until the mission. Since the banquet was to be held in Suna, the team would be travelling by plane approximately one hour and thirty minutes. From there they would move onto the hotel reserved especially for the banquet to make sure everything had been properly set up when other operatives visited prior to the event.

After that, well this mission did require ample amounts of patience. And it also helped that Shisui also brought along useless board games to help the time pass while Midori and Sakura got ready. It usually took hours to get everything straight, especially since the former could never decide on which dress she was going to wear, or how she wanted her hair to be styled. Dealing with women like her was a pain.

"Kami help us all."

* * *

><p>"Oh Sakura-chan! Aren't you sad that our time together is nearly over?" Shisui cried as he threw himself upon the unsuspecting pinkette.<p>

"Eek!" she shrieked as they both fell to the ground with a thud, him laughing all the while. She groaned and pushed him off with a strange smile on her face. Now that she thought about it, they would only be together for a few more days then she'd be gone. She'd almost forgot about the money Itachi promised at the beginning. She supposed that the hype in preparing for everything sort of took all of her attention and just didn't have time to.

But now…

"Hello? Shisui to Sakura-chan!" she was shaken out of her thoughts by a concerned Shisui as he sat before her, hand resting on her shoulder. She looked at him with a conflicted expression before managing a pained smile.

"I guess we don't have a lot time left, huh?" she said. He smiled, standing up and reaching out a hand for her take.

"We just have to enjoy it! Since we're nearing the end and you've done well these last couple of training sessions, let's have a friendly spar." He suggested. Sakura paused for a second. She was going to miss this idiot, especially fighting with him since he was a challenge and she had yet to beat him, but mostly because he was strangely refreshing.

"All right," letting a smug smile appear on her face, Sakura dropped into a Shisui taught stance as they began. She started off with a low kick which he side stepped and countered by swinging his right arm at her head. She blocked and shot her right fist forward which he caught. Propelling herself backwards, Sakura charged it him with a roundhouse kick to his side. Catching her ankle, Shisui gave it a hefty toss.

Reacting quickly, she caught herself in a hand stand and managed to knock Shisui in the chin while coming down. Hearing him groan brought a small smile to her face as she straightened. He rubbed his chin before sending a miniscule glare her way.

"I said friendly!" he shouted at her. Sakura merely laughed in response, lowering into her stance once more.

"But sensei, we _are_ friends." She shrugged. He laughed haughtily and dropped down once more.

"All right then."

* * *

><p>"I thought Shisui was going to take it easy." Itachi commented as they rode to the hotel for her dance lesson.<p>

"I kind of provoked him to attack so it was partially my fault." She replied, staring at the window at the cloudless sky.

"Aa." He smiled. She seemed to be a bit winded, maybe a few bruises here and there, but was fine otherwise. And as hard as she tried, she couldn't hide the smile on her face no matter how small it was.

They soon arrived and Itachi pulled into a parking spot. Coming around to the passenger's side, he opened her door and allowed her to step out. Giving him a look of gratitude, they both strolled inside and went to their respective rooms.

Sakura entered the dressing room and instead seeing a familiar head of red hair, she saw pink. Sakura blinked in surprise at the presence of Midori walking around the dressing room eyeing the gowns superficially until she saw Sakura.

"Ah, Sakura. I was wondering when you would arrive. Come, we have much to do!" with that, Midori took Sakura by the hand and dragged throughout the room. "We have to decide on a dress, preferably red."

"Ah, I'm not good at this kind of-"

"Nonsense! No doppelganger of mine is going to opt out on picking out a dress. Now, let us get started, shall we?" the older woman beamed as they went through rows and rows of red dresses, all in different shades. Sakura couldn't believe there were so many types of red in so many types of styles. It was insane. But she was kind of enjoying herself.

"We are going to be the talk of the town at the banquet!"

* * *

><p><strong>AN: **-sigh- This chapter made me kind of sad…why? We're getting close to the end, that's why! I wanted to make this chapter long since the previous one was so short if you don't count the omake that I slid in there. So I hope this is enough to suffice you all until the next one comes out. Yay! I managed to update before Christmas! Whoo!

Now, we had a little flashback into Sakura's past just so everyone can have some more Kakashi in their lives. What'd you think of that? Moving on! Can you imagine Sasuke asking a teacher for help with his homework…in front of all his classmates? Why, he'd be a laughing stock of course! Haha, good thing Sakura was there, right? Next we have the last fight scene between Sakura and Shisui. Gosh that made me sooo sad. And finally Sakura and Midori pick out dresses for the banquet. Any suggestions for what the dress should look like? I have a general idea but I may need some help.

Thanks go to: **Chrysocolla Pearl, Lady Lauren, TeamTHEFT, Dimensional Roamer, mangolovingemoninja, pure epicness1, Cheyenne Uchiha, She-who-is-AWESOMESAUCE, Ell-002, jennyanimelover, inn0centdr3ameR, TheUsuallyverycruelReviewLady, **and** Pink-Cherry-angel. **Awh! This is my favorite part of every chapter!

Now that that's out of the way let's talk about how many chapters we have left, shall we? So this chapter 19 I'll probably be finished by either 22 or 23 depending on how lengthy I want to be or angst-y really. What do you guys think? I think 23 is reasonably otherwise it'll be rushed…yep! 23 it is!

See you in chapter 20!


	20. Chapter 20

"Sakura," the older woman began as she stared at a particularly beautiful gown. Sakura paused in her looking to stare at her back.

"Yes?" she called back. Midori turned towards her with a look of determination etched across her regale features.

"Thank you." It was shocking, to say the least. "Close your mouth, or you will surely catch flies." She sneered.

"But Midori-sam…Midori," Sakura started.

"I had not realized the severity of your mission until this past weekend. Your life, as well as mine, is in danger. Yet, you chose to willingly stand in for me." She said. Sakura stared at her with a strange expression before returning back to her task, growing uncomfortable with every passing second.

"It-it's not that big of a deal." She said in a whisper.

"Don't be ridiculous!" not only had she shouted at her, but she used a contraction. What was the world coming to? "Of course it's a big deal, Sakura! If something were to happen to you, why, I would feel awful!"

"Midori," Sakura's voice trailed off as she stared at her twin with soft green eyes. Had she really come to care about her during their short time of knowing each other?

"That is why I'm asking, no, demanding that you do not fail. You must not because…because we are rivals for Itachi-kun's love and I refuse to fight for his affections with a dead woman!" Eh? Sakura could only laugh nervously as Midori pointed a dramatically stiff finger at her and huffed, turning back to the dresses.

"But I don't love-"

"Deny it all you want to Sakura but I know! That is why you must live so we can see who he will chose to spend the rest of his life with." She was so adamant about it, Sakura could help but smile.

"Come on! He doesn't even-"

"I refuse to lose to you! Now, come take a look at this one, it is quite nice once you get passed the obnoxious bow on the side."

Sakura groaned as she finally exited the dressing room, hours after entering. Midori had gone through every possible style in every shade of red that Sasori and Deidara had left for them. And even after all of that time she still hadn't decided on one. Between the two of them, they managed to narrow it down to fifteen dresses. She couldn't believe how utterly indecisive that woman was. Although it was tiring, Sakura still enjoyed herself to some extent.

Now all she had to do was make it through this dance lesson.

Walking across the floor, she noticed that Itachi was nowhere to be found and it confused her. Usually, wherever they went he was always there before she was. She never had to wait for him, ever. Shrugging, she resolved the situation by deciding to go through the steps of the waltz all by herself. It couldn't be all that hard, right?

Exhaling deeply, Sakura raised her arms in the proper position and let her feet guide her through the steps, her floor length gown flowing along with her. She closed her eyes to get a better feel of the rhythm as she continued, counting the steps in her head and anticipating the turns and spins. At one point she began to imagine the music playing in her head and it brought a small smile on her face as she spun accurately, her hair fanning out around her.

She was so entranced by her imaginary music that it almost felt as if someone were there dancing right along with her. She could literally feel a soft hand on her hip while the other took a gentle hold of her extended hand. She breathed in a slow breath, taking in the scent of familiar cologne before sighing softly. Prying her eyes open a little, she caught sight of white. A white dress shirt to be exact.

'_What?'_ her mouth fell open as her eyes darted upwards and caught sight of the ever stoic Itachi staring down on her.

"I-Itachi?" she yelped, jumping back in surprise. She was in mid stumble when he expertly caught her, his arms snaking around her waist, giving her the support she needed to stay on her feet. Sakura turned a generous shade of red as he straightened them both, his hands resting at her sides. She kept her eyes focused on the floor, refusing to look him. He grunted softly, causing her jump and slowly raise her eyes to meet his.

He was smiling, a small one, but a smile nonetheless. And Sakura could've sworn her heart skipped several beats just at the mere sight and the fact that this particular smile was directed towards her and only her. They were the only two people in the room and unless there was an invisible force standing between them he was definitely smiling at her.

"You've improved." He said and she couldn't help but blush at that. It was so strange to hear someone compliment her in such way. She had been so used to ridicule that having someone encourage her made her downright uncomfortable.

"Just a little," she turned her head away from him, wishing that they weren't standing so close to each other. His close proximity was making her jumpy and uncomfortable and for the first time in a long time she wished he would turn away too. But he didn't.

"No," he breathed out before his hand rose to cup her chin. She gasped inwardly at the touch as he directed her gaze towards him. Her eyes widened apprehensively. He wasn't going…to kiss her, was he? No, not Itachi. He would never do something like that. Not here and certainly not with her. But Sakura couldn't contain her thoughts as they went crazy. "You've improved a lot."

This was it, she thought. She closed her eyes tightly and prepared for what she assumed would be the worse. Itachi was going to kiss her, there was no doubt about it. There was no reason not to. They were alone, standing ridiculously close to each other and…and…he let go.

Popping her eyes open, Sakura stared at Itachi's retreating figure as he left the center of floor and walked towards the speakers where the music was spilling out. Her heart thumped loudly in her chest as she watched him. He didn't do it. He didn't kiss her. When he very well could've taken her lips hostage and ravished them like she expected him to. He just walked away.

Sakura sighed and turned away from him. Part of her was relieved beyond all belief that he didn't do what she thought he was going to do. Part of her was rejoicing on the inside. Part of her couldn't even believe she thought Itachi would initiate such intimate contact between the two of them. But another part was disappointed that she had been wrong, that Itachi hadn't closed the distance between them and kissed her like no other.

And she found herself agreeing with that part even as they rode back home later that evening.

Upon entering the Uchiha household, Sakura quickly retreated to her own bedroom where she showered, changed clothes and dragged a reluctant Sasuke back to her quarters. Disgruntled and a little peeved at being pulled, Sasuke sat on her bed with an angry expression as he watched her pace the length of her floor.

"What's with you?" he asked with an arched eyebrow.

"What's with your brother?" she asked, startling him.

"Explain." He narrowed his eyes, letting his hands fall. Oh yes, mention Itachi and you'll have Sasuke's full attention, guaranteed.

"Well, I mean he's so weird. Has he ever had a girlfriend?"

"Have you ever seen pigs fly?" Sasuke snorted.

"Be serious Sasuke." She glared at him.

"About what? Nii-san's love life? Honestly, I could care less." He answered. But staring at her distraught expression elicited a sigh and a deeper answer than he wished to give. "But to my knowledge he's never so much as glanced at woman in that way."

"I see," she whispered, plopping down next him with a huff.

"You…don't _like_ nii-san…do you?" he asked with an utterly disgusted look on his face. At the sound of his question, Sakura turned red and immediately turned her head away so he wouldn't see.

"N-no…" she mumbled quietly. Sasuke's eyes widened at her words as he moved to shuffle away from her as if she had some sort of disease. The signs were all there. The blushing, the chopped up speech, the flaky denial. She had a crush on Itachi.

"You do, don't you?" He asked in a tone of voice that Sakura had never heard him use before. Glancing up from the oh so interesting carpet, Sakura spared him a glance to see him staring long and hard at his lap as if he were at odds with himself.

"Sasuke…?" she called quietly.

"Sakura," he started, his tone hard. "that's…that's…"

"It's what?" she asked, truly interested in what he had to say.

"That's disgusting." And her mouth was left hanging open for the second time that day as Sasuke stood up from the bed and stood before her with the fiercest glower she'd ever since him wear.

"And here I thought you were smart. Hn." He grunted and turned his condescending glare away from her.

"What's that supposed to mean?" she shot back, standing up to face him.

"Tch, falling for someone like nii-san. He's about as emotional as a bowl of jello." Had she not been so upset about him insulting her intelligence, she might've laughed at his witty remark but now was not the time. "I really hope you're not expecting much out of a relationship."

"You think I did this on purpose? Well for your information, I didn't. Show's how much you know, mister smartass." She poked him in the chest with her index finger.

"So you admit it." He smirked at her. Sakura froze, her brain scrambling trying to find some way of denying what had already been said. Her defeat came in the form of her falling back on the mattress in a slump.

"Yea and what's it to you…" she grumbled lightly. Sasuke sighed and Sakura jumped at the sudden weight pressing down on her head. Sasuke let out a small grin as he fingered her long pink locks in between his fingers and he mused that, despite the horrid color, Sakura had a nice head of hair. But that was beside the point. This girl was, for some reason, infatuated with his brother and sought him out for advice. And who was he to turn her away?

He was Uchiha Sasuke, that's who.

"You have awful taste in men, Sakura." He insulted her. Sakura's bottom lip poked out, refusing to stare at him as he retracted her hand. "But don't lose hope. And even if things don't work out, well there'll be other guys, I guess." He shrugged, scratching his neck.

Sakura took that moment to stare up at the younger Uchiha with a calm stare before her eyes fell on his tainted cheeks before he quickly turned away from her to exit her room. Was he blushing? No way, of course not. Sakura shook those thoughts out of her head as he turned, his hand on the doorknob.

"Thanks! Er, for that, I guess." She mumbled out, scratching her cheek with a wavering smile. Sasuke gave a small grunt as he smirked.

"Yeah…" with that, he took his leave and Sakura found out a little more about Sasuke than she had known before. Like, who knew Sasuke could blush or give relationship advice for that matter? It was a little amusing if she really thought about it. In a way, he sort of helped her, if not, confusing her a little along the way. But, she thought, what in world was she supposed to do with his advice?

"This sucks!" she groaned. Sakura grabbed a random pillow, mashed it into her face and screamed until she became dizzy. Yes, it sucked a lot.

* * *

><p>The next day passed by in slow motion for Sakura. Mostly because she was stuck in her own thoughts about Midori's demand, Itachi's 'almost' kiss, and Sasuke's lame words of advice. Her life just got a whole lot more complicated and she wasn't sure if she could handle any more drama, especially right before the mission. It didn't help that the sky decided to look unbelievably dark and cloudy either.<p>

"You look troubled Sakura," Rin commented as they walked with each other down an empty corridor. It was awfully vacant at the police station. But Sakura guessed it was due to the fact that a lot of their operatives were already down in Suna finishing up the preparations for tomorrow. "Care to talk about it?"

"I…it's complicated, Rin-san." Sakura said. Her eyes were downcast and her hands shoved in her pockets as they made their way to the training gym downstairs. Rin gave her a comforting glance as they walked on.

"Well, I'm sure whatever it is, you'll overcome it. You're pretty strong, you know that?" The older woman smiled kindly at the girl, causing her to nearly freeze. There it was again. That compliment thing. Sakura bit her lip as she looked away, unable to take her utterly kind stare. How could she be so nice to her? "Anyway, why don't we head inside, hm?"

"Yeah, sure." Sakura shrugged as she pushed open the gym doors. Only, instead of seeing a smug Shisui standing in the middle of the floor, goading her to punch him, she saw confetti and heard loud horns going off accompanied by shouts and cheers. Sakura's eyes widened at half the police force standing in the middle of the floor with party hats, and noise makers, some of them clapping and what not.

"Wha-what?" she gasped out. Her eyes surfed the crowd falling on Shisui who had pushed his way to the front and thrown his arms around her. He grinned endlessly as he slung his arm around her shoulder and led her through the sea of black haired cops.

"It's a party Sakura-chan!" he said, blowing into his noise maker.

"A-a party?" she asked, uncertainly.

"Yup. Just for you!" he said, handing her a cup of punch.

"What…f-for me?" she gasped out. She couldn't believe it. Looking up she noticed all these people she had never seen before, staring at her, giving her smiles, pats on the back, encouraging glances, the whole nine yards.

"Before a big mission like this we always throw a party to relieve the tension and what not. And well, since you're playing a big role tomorrow we decided to dedicate it to you." This was all too much. Sakura gripped her drink tightly, her hand shaking as they went on.

"We know how nerve wreaking this job is and don't want you to feel apprehensive." Obito said as he clamped a hand on her shoulder. "Not like Shisui on his first mission."

"Hey! In my defense that girl was crazy!" the gym erupted in laughter at an obviously funny memory. Sakura took this moment of distraction to ease her way out of the spotlight and into a corner somewhere. She already didn't do well with crowds. To have all those people give her praise for what she was doing and wishing her good luck, was overwhelming. She didn't know how to take it all in without losing her mind.

It was enough to hear it from Shisui on a regular basis that she had improved, and then Itachi had to say something. That, in and of itself, was bad enough. Now this. She couldn't take it. So many people were depending on her to complete this mission. They were putting their faith in her to do things right, not to mess up. Midori even went as far to command her not to fail. Even if she had her own ridiculous reasons for stating it the way she did, it didn't ease Sakura's frantic nature not one bit.

She couldn't take it. Not this atmosphere, anyway. Shaking her head, Sakura slipped away from the company of the police force and left the gym, dropping her drink in the process.

And she ran.

She ran hard too. Up a flight of stairs and out the back door of the station and into the pouring rain. At this point, she didn't really care that it was raining. In fact, she welcomed the late night shower as she continued to sprint. She didn't really know where she was going, nor did she care. She just needed to get away, if only for a couple of hours.

Sakura felt like her world was crashing down around her. Never in her life had she ever had so many people putting their trust in her to do something right. The only one she cared to remember was Naruto and he blindly trusted anyone so she didn't consider herself to be anything special.

Her legs pumped endlessly until she could barely stand. Sakura fell to her knees, into a shallow puddle, breathing hard. She clenched her eyes shut, grabbing her knees and squeezing them until her knuckles turned white. She had convinced herself weeks ago that this mission was nothing. That it was a piece of cake. She'd do her job, get the money and be on her merry way.

Never in a million years would she of guessed that she make such bonds with these people and in the process gain their trust. Never would she of guessed that the governor's daughter would trust her with her very life. Never would she of guessed that she would have the desire to carry out this mission even without the compensation at the end.

She recalled an early conversation with Itachi about how she learned to stop trusting people. Her trust in humans had been broken so many times by her parents and those apart of her childhood that it had been severed completely and she thought it to be damaged behind repair. But little by little, these people eased their way into her thoughts and they became important to her. She didn't know when she began to care about them but she did. And that's what made having their trust so difficult.

"What if I mess up? What if I make the same mistakes my parents did? What if I betray their trust?" she cried, into the night. Sakura turned her gaze up to the dark sky as lightening flashed and thunder followed, crashing in the distance. "I can't…I can't do this!"

"Don't let the actions of those in the past prevent you from moving on." She could've sworn she heard Itachi's voice amidst the shower. She smiled bitterly at the thought. Out of everyone he was probably the one she trusted more than anyone. And he was the one she was most afraid of disappointing.

"Heh, don't talk as if you know me, Itachi." She mumbled as she moved to stand, her form dripping wet.

"I'd like to think I know you quite well, actually." She froze. Had that just been her imagination, or was Itachi really there? Whipping her head around she caught sight of him, drenched just like her and panting slightly. He followed her out here, she mused.

"I-Itachi…" she whispered breathlessly. He set his mouth in a firm line as he walked towards her, his feet slushing through the puddles with every step her took. And Sakura found herself in a battle with her own legs. Part of her wanted to run towards him and other part wanted to run away. So she stood completely still.

Soon his form came to tower over hers and Sakura refused to meet his gaze and chose to stare at his chest instead. Her heart pounded in her ears as she let the calm sounds of the falling rain and Itachi's leveled breathing soothe her. Being this close to him did things to her that she dared not even think about and the fact that he acted as if he had no idea what his presence did to her didn't help one bit.

She clenched her eyes and tightly closed her fist as she prepared to step away from him and spare herself the inner turmoil of being so close yet so far away from wanted from him. She was a fool. A fool for letting her trust in him turn into a silly crush.

"I-" she didn't get to finish her sentence or, rather, she couldn't. For as soon as that one word left her mouth Itachi had already taken a firm hold of her and pulled her to his damp chest and wrapped his arms around her shaking form. Sakura's eyes widened the size of saucers as she stared over his shoulder with an overwhelmed expression.

She sucked in a sharp breath when his hold tightened, his head buried in the crook of her neck. Drops of water cascaded down her back sending odd shivers up and down her spine because she couldn't distinguish whether the drops came from Itachi or from the rain. But she couldn't be bothered with such thoughts. In fact she couldn't be bothered with any thoughts at all. Because this embrace was invoking emotions inside of her that she had no idea she possessed.

"Every burden that you feel you must shoulder, every worry, every care, every thought, every fear," he said, his voice so undeniably strong that Sakura felt her knees quiver at the mere sound of it. It resonated gently through his chest and Sakura feel could the vibration hum against her body, it was maddening.

"Give it to me." She gasped, her arms shaking at her sides. What was he saying? Didn't he have enough troubles of his own? Now he was trying to shoulder all of hers as well?

"B-but-"

"Shh," he silenced her. "You've never asked me for anything, Sakura. Let me do this." He was firm. Unmoving. Sakura knew this was a losing battle and she smiled despite herself. At least she knew who was more stubborn.

"Itachi," Arms shaking, Sakura lifted them to reciprocate the embrace as she buried her head in his shoulder, clutching the back of his shirt as if her life depended on it. Itachi tightened his hold when he felt the sensation of warmth hit his shoulder and he knew that it wasn't the rain making him wet. He knew and Sakura knew as well.

For the first time since she last saw Kakashi, Sakura cried. She sobbed fitfully in the arms of the man who was willing to shoulder every burden she could fathom. And honestly, she wouldn't have it any other way.

* * *

><p><strong>AN:** Does anyone else feel like crying after reading this chapter? Because I almost cried while writing it. I'm the type of person where if you cry, I'm going to cry right along with you, even if you're a fictional character. It's just so freaking sad. Tears aside, let's address the happenings in this chapter, shall we?

So we got hear from Midori after closing with her last chapter. I love using her and her enthusiasm for Itachi's love. It adds humor to the story, ne? Next some ItaSaku on the dance floor. I think Itachi is capable of sneaking up on Sakura like that, gosh that's so cute it makes me want to barf. Haha, then we have an almost kiss which I think Itachi knew what Sakura was thinking which is why he didn't do it! It's not in his character to do the expected! He's Itachi! Next Sakura seeks out Sasuke for advice on how to deal with his brother. Did you guys catch the hidden message in there? Put it in a review if you did!

Finally we have an overwhelming party scene coming from the police force that sends poor Sakura running for the hills! But the ever fateful Itachi comes to the rescue, choosing the carrying all of her worries and fears just for her. This is probably my very favorite chapter. It was just full of such emotion! This is the first time older Sakura has cried! She's one tough cookie, huh?

Thanks go to: **TeamTHEFT, Cheyenne Uchiha, Dimensional Roamer, pure epicness1, InFieryPeace, ViEN-Ti, TranquilSapphire,Lil-BabYAnG3L, inn0centdr3ameR, Good boy-chan, kitsuneluvuh** and to the people I forgot to mention from last chapter **Ash2000, xXxInsanelyHopelessxXx, NorthernLights1239, ****Lil-BabYAnG3L, Muzikal Soul, choocolic, TheEmoChick, mangolovingemoninja, cherryh5797, Cereza101****. **I definitely couldn't have made it this far without each and other one of you guys. Thanks so much for all your support.

Now in regards to where this story is going to end, I've given it some thought and taken your comments into consideration and I've decided that the story will end where it will end. I've developed a 'que sera sera' type of mindset of you catch my drift. No use in trying to predict how many chapters are left, I suck at that anyway. So, please give me your thoughts on this chapter! I hope everyone had a Merry Christmas and enjoy the rest of the holidays that this season brings! I probably won't update again for a while so Happy New Year!

So you in chapter 21 in 2012!


	21. Chapter 21

Sakura was confused. And it was the good confused, she guessed. Not the one where you get all frustrated and you want to break something because your mind can't grasp some concept. No, it was the kind of confused where you didn't really know why something was going on, but you wanted to know. Well, maybe confused isn't the right word. Curious? Yeah, that's it.

Sakura was curious.

"One more time," she asked. "What are you doing here?"

Sasuke was frustrated.

"I've told you six times already." Came his reply. Sakura pursed her lips as she turned away from him and crossed her arms over her chest. It was a simple question so she didn't understand why he just wouldn't answer it. For the seventh time.

"Repetition is the best teacher." She beamed causing him to roll his eyes before sighing.

"Fine. My father's the head of the police force and he has to attend such events as these as a representative of sorts. I was dragged along because-"

"You can't be trusted home alone all by yourself." Shisui chimed in with a large smirk on his face. Sasuke narrowed his gaze at him before grunting and ignoring the situation completely.

And this is where we find our heroes (?) seated in a private plane en air route to Suna. Sakura giggled at Sasuke's expression as she adjusted her seat to make herself comfortable. She drowned in the feeling and let herself sink into the plush leather, enjoying the feeling of it as she sighed contently. It just felt so good.

"First time on a plane, Sakura-chan?" Shisui asked, turned around. He was a row in front of them, Sasuke right behind him. She nodded with a small smile on her face. The elder Uchiha laughed before righting himself in his seat. Without warning, he propelled it backwards and found himself staring up at an angry Sasuke.

"Enjoying the flight, baby cousin?" he asked with mirth in his dark eyes.

"Che," Sasuke grunted before smacking him in the back of the head. Shisui flinched back angrily.

"You little twerp!"

"Could we please not do this?" came the scolding voice of Itachi as he came up behind Sakura with a steaming cup of black coffee in his hands. Sakura visibly stiffened in her seat as he walked passed her and took his seat next to Shisui. She was still wary of him because of what happened the night before. Things were awkward on her end.

"He started it, nii-san." Sasuke retorted with a stiff finger as Shisui jerked his seat forward.

"You should know better than to respond to him." Itachi said in reply.

"Tch." He grunted once more and opted to stare out the window.

"Aw, but it's my job to terrorize him, Itachi." Shisui said as he sent a silent menacing look to Sasuke to which he glared back.

"No, it's your job to terrorize new recruits," he paused, taking a sip from his drink. "It's _my_ job to terrorize him." He finished. He, too, sent a menacing glance in Sasuke's direction causing the younger boy to shiver.

"That means you get all the fun." Shisui pouted.

"Hn." Itachi grunted and the conversation was over.

Sakura noticed how Sasuke visibly shrank in his seat at the relief that Itachi was no longer giving him that God awful stare. He knew, first hand, how evil Itachi could be on a regular and he was grateful for Sakura's presence now more than ever. For some reason, her presence kept Itachi at bay for the most part. He was thanking her every day he made it each day unscathed.

"So you're really not trusted to be left by yourself?" Sakura whispered.

He was still frustrated.

* * *

><p><em>Two days earlier…<em>

Naruto was excited. And it was the good kind of excited. The kind where you knew something great was going to happen and you just couldn't wait until it did. It was maddening, he thought. He just couldn't wait. The little Naru inside of him was bouncing off the walls inside his head and just couldn't sit still.

"Come on! Let's go already!" he shouted impatiently. He, along with Sai and a small group of ROOT agents were packing up a van getting ready to hit the road. The blond had an old tattered backpack strapped to his person and was sipping on a last minute cup of instant ramen. They had just finished loading up when he tossed the empty container over his shoulder.

"Why is he here again?" one of the agents whispered to the person closest to him. The other merely shrugged as they headed to front to start up the van. Sai let out a long breath as he approached his partner who was doing everything in his power to keep himself upright.

"What are you so excited about?" he asked with a confused expression.

"What do you mean? This is my first time out of the city! What's there not to be excited about!" he exclaimed. It was yet another one of those situations where Sai was caught off guard by Naruto's sunshiny personality. He just gets so elated by some of the simplest things that Sai was hard pressed to believe he was actually way passed his adolescent years.

"I see." He replied. Everyone clambered into the dark colored vehicle and settled themselves in for what was expected to be a very long ride. Sai and Naruto were seated in the very back row, just the two of them. The blonde had clamped his hands over top of his shaking knees to at least try to contain some of his excitement as they pulled off and left the city limits.

"Yeah!" He shouted, jumping up from his seat.

"Oi! Put on your seat belt!" the driver yelled angrily from the front. "If we get pulled over because of you-!"

"Naruto! Please sit!" Sai urged him.

"Ah, lighten up will ya'!" he waved them off before swinging the black belt across his person and reclining in his seat. He sighed and stared up at the blank ceiling with a content expression on his face. "Say,"

"Hm,"

"What's this girl look like anyway?" he asked, curiously. Sai looked at him with slightly surprised eyes before pulling out a black envelope and handing it to the blonde.

"Ohayashi Midori. She is the Governor of the Fire Country's daughter, twenty one years of age with-"

"She looks just like Sakura-chan!" he shouted in disbelief. Sure of enough the picture provided showed a woman with pink hair and green eyes smiling prettily at the camera and Naruto just couldn't believe it.

"Yes, she does. That is why I was looking for her at one point in time." He explained.

"To do what? Help with this? What would she have to do?" Naruto closed the envelope in order to give Sai his full attention. Sai took note of the fact that Naruto was always fully focused whenever Sakura was involved.

"To help with the success of the mission, she would've posed as a temporary replacement so no suspicions would arise when we took her." Surprisingly, Naruto was very silent. That is, until he opened the folder once more, stared at the photo and turned an odd shade of red.

"Bahaha! Are you serious? There's no way Sakura-chan would've been able to pull that off! This lady's all fancy and stuff!"

"Oh?" Sai looked surprised himself.

"Yeah, besides that…I don't think Sakura-chan would've done this anyway." His eyes softened at that. "And she'll be so pissed at me if she ever finds out that I'm doing it."

"You and Sakura-san," Sai began. He had always been fascinated with their relationship. No matter how much Sakura pushed and got on Naruto's case, he only thought the world and above of her. Sai was convinced that, given the opportunity, Naruto would give his life for Sakura.

"Hmm?" Naruto asked.

"You love her, don't you?"

"Eh? Th-That's-!" he spluttered, face red once more as Sai looked at him silently. "Sakura-chan…I—yeah."

"You won't tell her?"

"I…telling Sakura-chan how I feel would only cause her problems." He smiled bitterly as he stared at the passing scenery.

"Besides, I wouldn't be able to give her everything she needs. It would be better if…she found someone else."

"I don't understand." Sai furrowed his brow in confusion.

"It's like this, when you love someone, you want what's best for them. Even…even if that means them being with somebody else." He raised his head to see Sai nodding in agreement. But out of the corner of his eye, he noticed the people in the row ahead of them shaking silently.

"Oi, you guys ok?" he shook one of their shoulders only for him to turn around, tears falling in a steady flow. "Eh?"

"That was so beautiful!" the man sobbed before the guy next to him slung an arm around his shoulder and they cried together.

"What the…"

"How strange…"

* * *

><p>The plane to Suna had landed promptly at four thirty in the morning, leaving the passengers tired and effectively jetlagged. Each one of them, Konoha Police Force operatives plus Sasuke, trudge off the plane sluggishly and into the virtually dead airport towards the baggage claim.<p>

Shisui fought to hold back a yawn while walking next to Shizune who look a lot better than he did.

"How are you not tired?" he asked with a raised brow.

"Well when you guys come strolling into the hospital during all hours of the night you get used to being up." She shrugged with a smile. Shisui grimaced at her happy expression, thoroughly disgusted with her at the moment. So instead, he chose turn back around to bother his favorite little cousin.

"Yo, how's it going back there?" he shouted with a sudden burst of mirth.

"Tch. Annoying." Sasuke grumbled under his breath as he shifted the resting person splayed across his back. Sakura rested against him silently, her head planted between his neck and shoulder, hair tickling the nape of his neck as her steady breaths sent shivers down his spine.

She wasn't heavy, not at all, but at this time in the morning coupled with how tired he was, she weighed a ton. It didn't help that she wasn't conscious enough not to sling all of her weight on him. Gods, it was hard carrying her around the airport and baggage claim seemed so far away. Curse Shisui for volunteering him for such a job. He was going to get it, Sasuke thought.

But also, where was Itachi?

"It's only hours away, huh?" Itachi sighed from his spot, leaning against a pillar of the airport, staring up at the night Suna sky filled with endless stars.

"Ah." He replied. A dry wind swept by him and other person he was engaged in conversation with.

"Never thought I'd be working for the police force again. Especially under these circumstances." Kakashi laughed bitterly to himself, running a stiff hand through his silver mane of hair. Part of him still couldn't believe that he was actually doing this. That he was actually here. That Sakura, whom he hadn't seen in years, was just meters away from him.

"You still don't wish to meet her." Itachi said. It was more of a statement than anything. And Kakashi was grateful for how the younger man assessed his situation. He could only chuckle lightly. When he first joined the force, Itachi was still a bit wet behind the ears and inexperienced. Seeing him now only served to prove how old he was getting.

"I'm fine with just being able to see her from afar. There is no need for me to meet her as I am now. She doesn't need me." His tone sounded a little down. Itachi regarded the man silently before pushing himself off the pillar and approaching him.

"Are you certain of that?" he asked.

"Yes, I am." Kakashi answered.

"I see." With that, Itachi made a move to walk away. But he paused, turning his head back slightly. "Just remember, despite how she may appear on the outside, Sakura will never stop needing the people in her life."

Kakashi hummed to himself with a small smile as he too looked up at the sky.

"That includes you as well, ne?"

"Aa."

* * *

><p><strong>AN:** It's been a long time coming, huh? Man I cannot believe how long it took me to write this chapter. I am totally ashamed of myself for how long this chapter took. It's just awful! I'm sorry everyone. Please forgive me.

Ok! My shameful pleading is over! Let's assess this chapter, shall we? So they've finally made it to Suna! And Sasuke's coming along too, isn't that great. I just love the relationship he and Sakura have in this story. If you haven't noticed all ready, Sasuke has like an immature baby crush on her. But don't look it into it too much. There's not going to be a big fight for her love at the end or anything. We don't even know how Itachi really _really_ feels! Also! Yes, Naruto is in love with Sakura, duh! It makes more sense for him to fall for her in this setting, don't you think?

**Special Thanks goes to:** Good boy-chan, TeenageCrisis, epicness1, momoko09, LovelyCloud, inn0centdr3ameR, Dimensional Roamer, X-PoisonCherry-X, Licelies, VAMPIRELG, TheEmoChick, Lil-BabYAng3L, Define Nightmare, kurohime1024, bluebrat, wraaww, Rock'n'Slash, TeamTHEFT, Namikaze Soul, KaeRyu, GreenAnna, , csb, LaughterGirl, Scootch4411, Yoonlymilkshake, Suki Enogawa, Sakura-Peaches, gemaima, perfect beauty, spoilerlover, and Vampire Blood Kitten.

Sorry if I missed anyone, I had to sort through three months of emails. Not fun at all. Anyway! I shall do my best to ensure that the next chapter won't take three months. I'm on spring break so (hopefully) I'll have another chapter out by the end of the week then there's only one month of school left then I'll be out for summer!

Now, here's the part of the author notes where I talk about something that has absolutely nothing to do with the story! Has anyone read the latest manga chapter of Naruto? Oh my friggin gosh! Karin's an Uzumaki? I was shocked and appalled! This has me questioning the lineage of all red heads in Naruto! Could Gaara be an Uzumaki? What about Sasori? Heck, could Sakura be an Uzumaki? Might as well be! Kidding, I'm kidding. I just needed to express my feelings a bit. But, for those who read it, what do you guys think? Answer in the review please!

Thanks for reading everyone! Onto chapter 22!

Krystal


	22. Chapter 22

There was a very small part of Sakura that wished she could turn back time. Turn back time to that day in the street when she decided to rob that little convenience store with the fat but, surprisingly strong, old man who owned it. For if that event had not happened she wouldn't be in the situation she was so painstakingly in now.

Being picked, prodded, plucked, and smothered all in one setting. She grimaced, wincing as some unknown stylist tugged at her pink locks, thoroughly combing it with his dainty fingers as he went through a one-sided consultation with her. He ruffled it up a bit in the back, testing the body she guessed. And all the while this was taking place she had one lady endlessly filing her nails while the other did work on her feet.

She couldn't understand for the life of her why in the world a woman would go through all this trouble. It was annoying. She stole a glance to her left to see her counterpart in the chair beside her, soaking it all in and barking orders at the same time. Everything that she wished, her workers compiled with while Sakura's copied.

"Oh no dearie, French manicures are so tacky nowadays. I need a solid color with my natural nail. You see how long they are, correct? See? You're not looking, look!" the poor woman nodded with an uneasy grin, staring with eyes full of fear at the neatly filed and clean nails that sat before her. Satisfied with her intimidation spell, Midori returned to lounging in her chair like the princess she thought herself to be. She sighed contently before looking over at Sakura.

"Isn't this wonderful? So relaxing." She smiled, suddenly very giddy.

"Yeah, I guess." Sakura shrugged. Her nose began to fidget at the suddenly onslaught of nail polish filling the air. It was a sharp scent that stung her nostrils, making her want to sneeze. It began to itch, causing her to wiggle it in order to satisfy the grating sensation on her skin. When it simply wouldn't go away she resorted to thinking of other things.

Before arriving at the makeup station around noon that day, they had stopped by the room with the dresses, greeted by an irritated Sasori and a yawning, and slightly grumpy, Deidara. The two were miffed that Midori still hadn't picked out a dress but were somewhat glad that she managed to narrow it down to at least a particular color. Coral.

And it was for sure going to be floor length and strapless. She knew that much. And that narrowed it down to about ten choices. But Sakura had missed the final decision for the two dress designers and Midori found her tightly snuggled between two gowns, snoring lightly.

She smiled a bit at the memory, still trying to get over her slumber even at the time of day it was.

"Excuse me," someone called from the door. Sakura resisted the urge to crane her neck and see who it was, but dainty fingers had already pinched her once for tilting her head back to yawn. She wasn't really in the mood to get into any unnecessary tiffs at the moment. "We need to borrow Sakura-san."

"Me?" she called, never looking back. She heard dainty fingers groan from behind her as he removed his hands and whipped her chair around towards the door without any type of warning. She sent him a quick glare before hopping out her chair, leaving the room.

She was led down the hall by someone she didn't recognize and into another room. Upon entering, she noticed a desk with a chair in the middle and a packet of papers sitting on it with a pencil right beside it.

"Go ahead and take a seat Sakura-san. I'll go see if I can find Obito-senpai." With that, the person left her alone in the room. Arching a brow, she stared down at the paper to see the words 'Psychological Reasoning Exam' printed across the front. Exam?

"What…?" she called, holding the thick sheets in her hands. The first thing that popped into her mind at reading the word psychological was strange. Did they think she was crazy or something? It was kind of late to be testing this kind of thing wasn't it?

"Ah Sakura! Sorry I'm late!" Obito came bounding in, spewing some excuse about there being a tremendous sandstorm outside that held him up. She merely waved him off in favor of finding out exactly what this was all about.

"Psychological Reasoning? Exam?" she asked with a confused expression.

"Don't stress it, ok? Even though we know you're sound, it's just an extra precaution that we take with our operatives before missions. We just need to make sure that you won't have some type of nervous breakdown that could potentially endanger you or anyone else."

"I see. Is there a time limit?" she asked.

"Take as long as you need." And with that, she broke the seal and quickly got to work on the test. Granted, she hadn't taken one since she dropped out of school a year ago. She had always been pretty good at taking tests. But she hated them. She hated them almost as much as she hated spicy foods.

So she brushed right through it, eager to get done as soon as possible. Her discerning green eyes scanned each question quickly before she penciled in the appropriate bubble next to the right answer. Obito peered up from his newspaper to see her literally flying through the exam at a breakneck pace, flipping pages and answering questions so fast he thought she'd break the pencil.

"Hey, there's no rush-" he called. But it fell on deaf ears as her brows furrowed and the pages went flying with each turn.

* * *

><p>Itachi was walking down the empty hall of the floor of their hotel when he heard a voice calling out to him. Peering behind him, he noticed Shisui's door was slightly cracked and his head was sticking out obnoxiously, curls messily hanging about. He quirked an eyebrow when the man waved him over insistently.<p>

Compiling, he went to the door only to be tugged inside and shoved unceremoniously into the door as it shut. Automatically narrowing his gaze, Itachi met the eyes of a frantic Shisui who had his hand fisted around his collar, teeth gritted angrily.

"Itachi," he hissed angrily. "You must think you're real funny, huh?"

"Hn." He grunted. At that Shisui physically crumbled, letting go of Itachi's once neatly pressed collar in favor of pacing the length of the room.

"How could you do this to me? Your own flesh and blood!" he exclaimed. He was met by a finely raised eyebrow. "Don't act all oblivious. You know what I'm talking about."

"You're being ridiculous."

"I'm being ridiculous? Do you know who you've paired me up with? The devil wear's Prada, Itachi, fucking Prada!"

"I wouldn't give you a task that you aren't capable of handling." Came his reply. And Shisui tumbled to the ground, head buried in his hands. Itachi smirked at his overly dramatic relative before making a move to leave.

"I'll get you back for this one day." He threatened.

"I'm counting on you." With that somewhat amusing conversation over, Itachi was back on track to his original destination.

After settling in from the flight he was able to get about four hours of sleep before getting right to work. They had set up a command center on ground floor of the hotel with meeting rooms on all the odd floors. Once the stations matched what they had mapped out on the blueprints of the hotel, it was time to make sure everything was working properly.

Testing microphones and tracking devices as well as the surveillance system was all necessary to ensure the mission's success. Each operative working the floor was assigned a mic to be securely hidden on their person for effective communication throughout the entire ordeal. Installed inside the mic was a tiny tracking device used to follow movements to make sure everyone was in their correct location.

Lastly there were hidden cameras installed in the most crowded areas, such as the ballroom, hallways, stairwells and on all the even floors where the meeting rooms were absent. Everything was being watched and monitored. If a janitor sneezed, Konoha's police force would know about it in a matter of seconds.

As it was now, he was on his way to speak with the intelligence department about a pressing matter before another door opened further down the hallway. Out stepped Sakura with a surprised Obito behind her, flipping through a thick packet of papers with wide eyes. Itachi assumed that was her Psychological Reasoning Exam in his hands. Judging by the evident shock in his dark eyes he guessed she did well.

"How could you get a perfect?" the older man asked, utterly astonished. And Sakura looked a bit put off by his answer as if she were offended.

"Uhm, isn't that a good thing? It means I'm not crazy." She arched a fine, freshly plucked eyebrow at him. Obito laughed nervously before closing the packet and coughing into his hand, stiffening his back a bit.

"Yes it's very good. I'll just go inform—oh Itachi!" they seemed to finally notice his impending figure walking towards them. He acknowledged his elder with a nod before turning to Sakura who had suddenly switched her gaze to the wall, hands dangling at her sides with a slight twitch in her fingers. He narrowed his gaze at her posture before receiving the test from Obito to look it over.

Just as the man had said, it was a perfect score. The pages were covered in small black dots, a smudge here and there, each correctly answering the question above it. While he couldn't really say that he was surprised, he knew she was smart, he was kind of proud in a way. Not that he had anything to do with her wits. She seemed like a natural genius. No, he was proud in the way that an older sibling would be.

At least, that's what he was going to call it.

"Good." He replied with a small smile. He noticed her form relax seconds later before he switched his attention to Obito who murmured something about heading to the command center. He nodded, watching the man go before looking back to Sakura. She was standing in a way that only allowed him to see her side profile. And from what he could see of her face, she looked outright uncomfortable.

"Sakura," he called. He seemed to pull her out of some sort of daze for she jumped and turned to him with surprise written all of her face before it turned an odd shade of red and she whipped her head around shyly, muttering something under her breath. She was acting very strange, he thought.

"Is something wrong?" he asked. Now was not the time for her to be acting up. The mission was but hours away and with her playing a major role the last thing he needed was for her to lose it.

"No, nothing's wrong." She replied with a frown. There was no hesitation in her voice. Nothing in her tone led him to belief that she was uneasy about anything. But he wasn't going by her tone because she was a good liar. No, he was going by her face because she wore her emotions on her sleeves whether she wished to or not. And he sighed.

"You still do not trust me?" he asked with suddenly very tired eyes. Her mouth became agape at his question as she took a step back. Shaking her head a bit, she stared up at him with hardened green eyes and clenching fists.

"I do. It's you who doesn't trust me. There's nothing wrong Itachi. Believe me if there was I-"

"I do trust you and I want there to be no secrets between us so long as we are working together. If there is something wrong or something bothering you, please tell me." She sighed, hands fisting her pink locks before she gazed at him with a weary glance.

"I told you there's-"

"You are uncomfortable around me all of the sudden." She wouldn't be lying if she said he was right. Being around him as of late made her more jumpy, nervous, excited, and wary all in one. She wanted to be in his presence but the sight of him made her wish to flee the scene as well. She wanted to talk to him but was fine with just gazing at his person. She felt as if being with him was tearing her apart just as much as being away from him. It was a foreign feeling and she wasn't sure whether she liked it or not.

"I apologize for my actions the other night." He said.

"The other night…" then it hit her. He was talking about the night of the party when she ran. It had all happened so fast, part of her was still trying to grasp everything that happened. Part of her wasn't even sure that everything she thought happened was real. But judging by his apology, it was very real and he seemed to know that something he did was the cause of her abrupt discomfort.

"If something I did bothered you then-" but she cut him off by reaching out to touch his arm. His eyes gave off a sense of surprise and she fought to retract her hand but decided against it, feeling as if the contact was necessary for what she was about to say. She prayed to whatever God above her that she was doing the right thing. That this wouldn't blow up in her face.

"You," she paused, finding the right words to say. "You don't have to apologize for that. I'm glad that you were there. That it was you who found me."

He was silent.

"Call me immature, weird or whatever but being there in that moment made me strangely happy. And I guess I had forgotten what that felt like." She lowered her hand back to her side before smiling up at him, lips curved with a glossy shine and eyes soft, it was kind of hard to believe he was staring at the same girl he had met but weeks ago. She looked happy.

"It's not your fault Itachi. I just have some growing up to do." And she turned and left. He watched her leave. This time not with calculating eyes, or an analytical gaze but with the eyes of someone who hadn't known her long. Someone who had been an active part in her life for the past month. Someone who had seen her struggle but overcome her obstacles and evolve into a different person.

He was able to smile but it was an uneasy smile.

"You've already grown so much." At the moment he realized that the pride he had felt but moments ago wasn't the type of pride an older sibling would feel. Not even what a senpai would feel for their kouhai. No, it was something much different than that. And for the first time in a long time, Itachi feared the outcome.

* * *

><p><strong>AN:** Dun dun dun! This ends the ever awaited chapter 22! And it's over 2,000 words! Phew man, let me tell you it was so freaking hard to get passed 500 words. You know why? Well I originally started this chapter way back in April but then my computer started being a butt hole and it wouldn't save passed the 500 mark so I was like 'Screw you computer!' and I used my mom's. I'm finally done though so I'm not complaining!

So, as we found out from the last chapter, we're finally in Suna now! It's the day of the mission and everyone's getting ready because it's a super duper awesometastic mission and they have to be prepared. I already know what Sakura/Midori's dress is going to look like and let me tell you, it's gorgeous! Moving on, what's got Shisui so worked up? And Itachi's scared guys! If Itachi's scared, we all should be scared!

Special thanks go to: **Dimensional Roamer, Good boy-chan, TeamTHEFT, ****inn0centdr3ameR****, ****spoilerlover****, ****Kyrazurite, xxSazzyBabexx, Lil-BabYAnG3L, haunted13****, ****MissMurder, Scififanta, Anzu-chan Loves Pain, akuma-chan25300, Kaydreams, Genuinely-Unique, Tainted blossom5527, Rima's Blood, xXRosexScorpiusXx, Art of Harmony, QuietShadowz, KissMeMalik, Katara-Hatake, The Monochrome Illusion, KuroSakuras, AkInA-AyUmE-ErZa-MiSaKi, crazywiththeglasses, Jus-Chan, mycookiesgaara, pure epicness1, justbecause111, **and** Perfect Beauty!** You guys are great, really. I appreciate all your support and that you're reading the story. Thank you from all parts of my heart.

Now, for the part of the author notes that have nothing to do with the story: Oh my goshness! Who read the latest manga chapter? First of all, I was upset that they took a week off and didn't tell anybody. Secondly the last page is a cliffhanger wrong on so many levels that I just—ugh! I can't wait for next week! I don't want to spoil it for anyone who hasn't read it but it was nearly heartbreaking to read. I sigh.

Moving right along, as you are reading this, I am asleep in my bed letting my brain conjure up the very next tomorrow which will be coming to you later on next week. My first year of college is over! Yesh! So that means I can finish this story with limited interruptions. Good luck to whoever is still in school. Study hard and finish off strong! See you in chapter 23!

Krystal

P.S.: Don't forget to vote in the poll on my page! It's super important!

P.S.S.: Check out the new review button! Isn't it kind of intimidating? :O


	23. Chapter 23

"Frankly my dear, I don't give a damn."

"Kya! Rhett is such a heartbreaker!" Midori squealed frantically while clutching her tablet close to her chest like a lifeline. Currently she and Sakura were in the middle of having the finishing touches done to their intricate, identical hairstyles. After three washes, time under the dryer, brushes, combs, hairpins, hairspray they still weren't done.

Well, at least they were close.

Once Sakura arrived back from her psych test they went straight to work on her make-up since Midori's had already been done during her absence. After that came the undergarments for the dress. There were tons of layers to be worn with the dress they decided on and it seemed practical to place them all on ahead of time. Some of them weren't very user friendly. Especially the padded bra. Yikes.

Since she was technically undercover and there was a high chance that she'd be engaging in close combat, Sakura was dressed in a skin tight black suit that covered the length of her legs. Her heels were detachable and it could be used as weapons if necessary. She was also equipped with a clear earpiece, hidden discreetly in one of her many curls nestled securely in her right ear.

"I love this film. How about you Sakura-san?" the older woman asked while the screen continued to play the closing scene. Sakura gave her a bored look while trying to keep her head straight for the hairstylist. Dainty fingers had already thumped her at least six different times for even the slightest movements. She was one bobby pin away from tossing the lightweight over her shoulder.

"I've never seen it so-"

"Never seen it? Oh, I suppose not, what with your upbringing." And she merely shrugged, handing the tablet to a random worker while she sat nicely with her hands folded in her lap. And it was yet another one of those moments where Sakura's eye twitched uncontrollably at her charges words. But she restrained herself from wrapping freshly manicured nails around her pale neck.

"Yeah," she muttered forcibly.

"You have finished, yes?" she asked, referring to her own stylist who stepped back to admire her handiwork. The woman nodded and handed Midori a little handheld mirror to look at her newly styled strands.

The light pink strands were straight and spun expertly, veering off to the right resting at the nape of her neck. They were pinned tightly into little curls while other strands were left hanging loose in thick, tight curls that hung off her shoulder.

"Oh you have done a nice job. I have never seen curls with such body." She complimented. "And you have managed to make a beauty out of my twin, not an easy feat mind you. What miracle workers you are!"

'_Miracle workers? How bad did I look?'_ Sakura asked herself as Midori went on about how difficult it must've been to apply make-up to her person. She usually wouldn't give thought to herself having self-esteem problems but being in the same room as Midori, despite their similarities in appearances, didn't really make her feel pretty.

But staring in the mirror did. Gone was the street girl that Itachi found but weeks ago and in her place was a lady with the face of a princess. Her already cat-like eyes were surrounded in bold black eyeliner that curved slightly at the ends, enhanced by long black lashes, complimented by smoky pink monochromatic eye shadow. These elements made her green eyes stand out even more than usual.

Her cheeks were lightly dusted with a rosy pink that began at the tops of her jawline and ended just at her nose. Her lips were stained a dark scarlet color to bring out the paleness of her skin and the color of her hair. She was breathtaking. It was hard to believe that a little dust and wax could turn her into a completely different person.

"Wow,"

"Stop ogling yourself and get dressed." Came the irritated chiding voice of Sasori. Sakura jumped out of her silent stare to see the red head staring at her with a mixture of pride and annoyance hidden behind his cool chocolate eyes. Standing right beside him, as always, was Deidara who wore a similar expression of pride on his bright face.

"Sakura-chan you look amazing!" he cooed, resisting the urge to pinch her pink cheeks.

"I do?"

"Che, of course you do. Now come on, we don't have much time left." And that's when she was shoved, none too gently, into the dressing room where Midori stood poised and ready to put on her gown. She was dressed in a white girdle with old fashioned trousers underneath. Sakura raised her newly plucked eyebrows at her appearance but had no time to voice any opinions as she was quickly stripped and dressed in different underclothes.

"You are going to love the dress I decided on!" the pink hair beauty cheered as the two dress makers arrived holding identical coral gowns in their arms. But Sakura wasn't all that impressed; rather she couldn't be not with the angle they were held at. What she saw was a mess of bright pink fabric with tons of little beads and sequins.

But the gowns were very extravagant and the process of getting them on was even more complex. It was strapless with a slim bodice covered from top to waistline in gold and silver beads, each neatly sewed into place creating an eye catching sweetheart neckline. The rest of the gown flowed outwards, touching the floor with teasing movements, loops joined together with more beads wrapping around the circumference of the skirt. The back was designed with crisscross lacing ending with one large bow that rested neatly on the bum.

Sakura could only gap at her reflection after the fifteen minutes it took to get the dress on. She truly looked like one of those ridiculously unrealistic Disney Princesses except she wasn't a princess and this was all too real. Touching her reflection and tracing her features lightly she couldn't help the small smile that crept its way to her face.

"See, I told you. It was worth the wait, was it not?" Midori laughed from besides her, twirling endlessly and watching as the dress rose slightly.

"No, it was not." Sasori deadpanned. "As much as it pained me to design it this way, your gown is detachable, Sakura." Sasori said, standing before her.

"Detachable? You mean-"

"With a nice tug, the skirt of the gown will rip right off leaving you with just the bodice." Deidara finished.

"I see. I was wondering how in the world I was supposed to fight with this huge thing on." She smiled, fingering the soft material in her hands.

"Yeah," said Sasori one last time before leaving the room with a smirking Deidara trailing behind him. That left Sakura and Midori alone in the dressing room. Sakura gave herself one last look before turning her attention to her elder twin who, too, was gazing at her from behind emerald irises.

"You really do look lovely Sakura." Midori said, voice soft and filled with honesty. Sakura blushed, embarrassed by the compliment. She stirred slightly at the hand that landed on her shoulder and looked up to see Midori sending her a stern look.

"I'm counting on you." With those words that came out of her mouth, Sakura could not only sense Midori's fear coming off in waves but also confidence. Confidence in Sakura's own abilities to be able to carry out this mission and do it flawlessly. There was no turning back. No running away, no escaping. There was only the here and now.

"Yes Midori-sama."

* * *

><p>The ballroom of the Suna delegation center was decorated accordingly to the occasion. The elegant chandelier was hanging securely from the ceiling with chains of gold draping down from the center and panning out around the length of the ceiling. Down below were tables clothed in the finest white linen with imported pea and pomegranate floral center pieces. The stairs were arranged neatly around the table, seven sitting around each one with white bows tied along the backside.<p>

Positioned in the center of the floor was a finely polished wooden dance floor for mingling and dancing, of course. There was also stage centered at the front of the floor equipped with microphone tools, speakers and a place for the live orchestra to sit and play. Security belonging to each of the regional delegates were poised along the back wall of the center, in black tie attire.

This is where Itachi was found making final preparations for the mission, ensuring everyone was in their place and ready to begin.

"I still can't believe you're doing this to me." Shisui whined insistently, adjusting his bow tie and grimacing while trailing behind the younger Itachi who was mirroring his actions with one of the younger security guards.

"Believe it. I wouldn't ask you to do it if I was unable to myself." Came his stoic reply. And to that, Shisui could say no more on the subject as he found Itachi's words had never been truer.

"Fine. But I won't be held responsible for the things I do to her." He warned with a small smirk.

"Of course not. You won't do anything." Itachi shot back with a smirk of his own.

"Oh, wouldn't I?"

"Never."

Soon individuals and couples began filling the center, each being escorted by the staff to their designated seating area. People were dressed according to the occasion. Women wearing uniquely designed dresses and evening gowns, while the men were in suits and tuxes each with respective bow ties as well as corsages.

The two cousins took this as their cue to fall back behind the scenes to take their places as the start of the mission was only minutes away. Leaving through the back exit of the center, they followed the winding path to the central command center where Itachi received an affirmative response from the workers there and left to meet up with Midori and Sakura.

"This is really it, isn't it?" Shisui commented as they approached the room Sakura and Midori sat waiting in.

"Aa."

"Nervous?"

"Hn."

"Heh, me neither." And what that, Itachi gave the door a firm but gently knock and stepped back as it was opened slowly by the gentle hand of beautifully made up Midori who gave him her best smile, doe like eyes blinking seductively before falling on a less than enthusiastic Shisui, where they then lost all their shimmer.

"Itachi-kun! And the fool." She deadpanned before ushering the two inside. Shisui's eyes visibly tensed before he cracked a fake smile and bowed politely to the woman before him. Itachi smirked accordingly before stepping inside with a silently grumbling Shisui coming in behind him. That's when he saw her, standing in front of the mirror dressed exactly like Midori.

But somehow, in a way even he could not understand, she looked nothing like her.

"Hey Itachi, Shisui." Underneath all that make-up and the fancy dress she was still Sakura. She smiled a nervous smile at the two of them before Shisui popped up from behind and clasped the two of his hands around hers.

"You look so…! Ah, I can't stand it!" he gushed, obviously excited and surprised at how well she cleaned up.

"Chill out! Goodness, you'd think I was a freak will how everyone's carrying on!" she scolded, snatching her hands from his grip while he laughted, resisting the urge to pat her on the head like he always did.

"Oh come on Sakura-chan, it's not every day we get to see you all dolled up and out of Sasuke-chan's old clothes. You look just like a princess." He grinned boyishly before leaning over to whisper something in her ear. "Unlike your awful doppelganger over there."

"What was that you troll?" Midori seethed from behind, knowing intuitively that the dark haired man had muttered something foul about her.

"It was nothing, your awfulness." He bowed once more with a sick grin of satisfaction on his face at her flustered one. Sakura looked surprised at the comments being thrown between the two. And Itachi was used to it, ignoring their banter in favor of sneaking quiet glances at Sakura. He told himself he was only looking for characteristics that made her different from Midori, but the more he looked, the more he realized how far from the truth it really was.

"Are you certain you cannot stay by my side Itachi-kun? Is there no way you can replace such incompetence?" she cried, saddling up to Itachi, her hands clutching his arm in a loving gesture while he looked down on with patience.

"I assure you there is no one more capable of ensuring your safety than Shisui. If it were untrue, he would not be here. Please have faith in his abilities." Was his reply. There were no further comments as she sighed and hooked an arm around his, primping up her hair a bit before smiling.

"I guess it cannot be helped. Shall we grace them with our presence then?" she offered, looking towards the door with anxious eyes. Itachi agreed, sending Shisui and Sakura both knowing looks while the two nodded, watching them disappearing behind the door.

Sakura visibly relaxed, Shisui taking notice of her suddenly less tense form.

"Something bothering you?" he asked, taking a seat in one of the nearby chairs in the room. Sakura followed suit, gathering up the skirt of her dress before plopping down tiredly next to the smiling Uchiha.

"Let's see, the mission starts in less than twenty minutes, this dress is really itchy, and Itachi wasn't even looking—" she paused, a hearty blush covering her face. Shisui looked surprised at her accidental, almost confession. But surprise quickly turned into a mischievous grin as he scooted his chair a little closer to the flustered pinkette.

"Itachi wasn't what? Sakura-chan don't tell me you-"

"Shut up!" she quick silenced him with jab to his shoulder.

"Ouch! Come on, there's no need to be shy about it. You're not the first and you won't be the last, I promise." He winked.

"I know! That's why…! That's why I probably won't say anything about it." She replied, a sad smile on her face. Why, it was melancholy the way she stared at the floor with soft green eyes.

"Sakura…"

"Itachi's probably used to girls falling for him. The last thing I want to do is be a bother to him and with these feelings I have…it wouldn't work out anyway, I'm just a kid."

"There must be something wrong with that make-up you're weaing." He commented, offhandedly.

"Huh?"

"It's affecting your brain! Because there's no way I'm talking to the Sakura I trained for three weeks." He said with a shake of his head.

"This is completely different from training though!" she protested.

"It's no different from all parts of life Sakura-chan. No matter what it is that you do, you have to give your all otherwise you won't be satisfied with the results." He explained.

"I-I know that but that doesn't stop me from being afraid. Itachi's become an important person in my life and I don't want to lose him over something like this. Not again."

'_Again?'_ he asked himself, wandering jut what she was referring to. Despite the loads of time they had spent together there was still a lot about Sakura that he didn't know. He figured he knew the bare minimum but was still curious about her in some ways.

"You'll never know unless you try." He suddenly shot out of his seat, offering his hand out to her.

"Shisui, what-"

"Tell him tonight." He side, pulling her out of the seat.

"But the mission-"

"Will be a success regardless. But how will you know unless you go for it?" He smiled, giving her hand a gentle squeeze. She looked at him warily, searching his dark eyes for that usual mischief but was surprised to see that he was completely serious. He gaze never wavered, staring right into her green eyes with confidence that the advice he was giving her was sure to work. And that was all the assurance Sakura needed.

"I suppose you're right." She sighed, her usual smile returning to her face.

"Aren't I always?" he bragged, releasing her hand to run his through his mane of curly locks.

"Sure." She agreed with a quick eye roll.

* * *

><p><strong>AN:** Would you call this a filer chapter? I think it's kind of in between…oh well. I was planning on updating around or on the anniversary of this story but I just got so caught up that I completely forgot. So I apologize for the lateness of this chapter. Part of me is kind of stalling because I really don't want this story to be over, it was just so much fun to write.

Moving on! I hope you guys were able to create a mental picture of what Sakura/Midori's dress looks like. I can't tell you how long it took me to find the right dress for this. Maybe I'll sketch up something and put it on deviantart so you guys can see. Now let's see what else happened here…who caught the _Gone With the Wind_, which I do not own, reference at the beginning? Love that movie!

Midori's as mean as ever and if you didn't catch it her and Shisui don't exactly have the best relationship, hence his freaking out last chapter. Also, Itachi is rendered speechless by Sakura's appearance. And then we get an accidental almost confession from Sakura! Shisui is like the love guru of this story so I leave it to him to spit some knowledge on our poor little Sakura-chan. Cute, ne?

Now you know what time it is, right? Manga time! If you haven't read the recent chapter, skip over this part! Itachi prevails again just like I knew he would! Take that Kabutomaru! You're not so great, Itachi beat your stupid jutsu! Meh :P But Sasuke just has to be a butthole and be all like 'You're Konoha's protector and I'm the destroyer and blah blah blah!" Can't stand him! . What about you guys? Infuriating!

Special thanks goes to: **Good boy-chan, Aidylx16, xXRosexScorpiusXx, kapurisudesu, atobe-chan, .Three3, SiLenT-CHimE, paper n pen, TeamTHEFT, Asarin159, ****xXDemDemXx, Lil-BabYAnG3L, pure epicness1, silversamjokgo, Libby159, Perfect Beauty, ****the craving blue bird, Lady Lauren, SherryLovesChux3, thelastshanghai, MiyukiAya, EstherUchihax, nasakelova, Sukutai Chiko, **and** Chibi-Chic! **You guys are my heart!

Next chapter should be out soon but I'm not making any promises. Just stick with me, this is crunch time and I need your support! Don't forget to vote in the poll on my page, I value your opinions! Thanks so much and see you in chapter 24!

Krystal

p.s.-I apologize for the mistakes, I'll correct them once I get some sleep.


	24. Chapter 24

"Introducing the Fire Country's Governor and his family." The announcement was loud and clear, drawing the attention of the all the lesser patrons enjoying the beginning festivities of the International banquet. All eyes were focused on the three figures entering the hall, noses held up high with importance. The Governor wore a smirk of satisfaction at having gain all the attention in the room while his wife stood beside him with a discerning stare, scanning the room and the people in it.

They sauntered regally over to the host of the event, swapping witty jargon as the rest of the people resumed their previous activities. The Fire Country's Governor, Ohayashi Kahen, laughed lightly at one remark made by the Wind Governor before turning his attention to entrance where another group of people were being announced. His eyes widened in recognition of the Leaf's Hokage and her aging advisors trailing behind her.

He gave each of them a silent glance, his dark eyes staying on the last figure a little longer than the others. Shimura Danzo. It was strange to see him outwardly interacting with his fellow advisors, especially outside of the village. The man usually dealt with his own private affairs with the Hokage outside of the other two's reach. And even then he was still a mystery even the Hokage herself couldn't seem to figure out. The man was interesting, to say the least.

Still it was good for publicity that all of Konoha's major influences took the time out of their busy schedules to pay Suna a visit. It was a dashing display of outright respect to respond to such an invitation of high importance. It wouldn't do well for the country if even one delegate failed to make an appearance. Such blatant insolence was severely frowned upon. Now that all of his representatives were present, he could rest easy.

Well, aside from the obvious he could kind of sort of enjoy himself.

* * *

><p>Just outside the walls of the party was a part of the Intelligence department, headed by Kakashi. The job Obito had enlisted him to perform was to be on the lookout for any suspicious activity and report it to the main Intelligence sector. Once they had that information the switch could be made and Midori would be safely out of harm's way, leaving Sakura to step in her place.<p>

So far the party had been going on for an hour and nothing seemed out of the ordinary. Just the usual ever persistent camera man trying to sneak in and it wasn't even their job to stop the little lurches anyway. Each agent was stationed around an invisible parameter, in charge of a center area, and was to report via microphone any weird activity going on.

Kakashi was perched at the back of the hall, hidden securely in the shadows and out of the light of the steadily setting sun. Suna was known for its blazing hot days and harshly cold nights. The temperature was slowly dropping along with the light of sun. In order to avoid the cold, he figured whoever targeted the Fire Country's first family would act before it became much too frigid to function.

He assumed himself correct when he heard the sound of almost soundless footsteps slowly approaching his hiding spot. There was about three of them, all dressed in dark clothing. They gave the back door a series of knocks before it was opened, enlightening the darkened space momentarily as they stepped inside, closing the door behind them and leaving Kakashi to the darkness once more.

He had already alerted HQ of their presence before they even stepped inside. Part of him gave a sigh of relief, the first and possibly easiest part of the night was over. But the rest of him was still tense with anxiety of the situation. The worst was far from over and just thinking about it took him into a tailspin of worries and fears for Sakura. He said he didn't want to blow his cover but if worse came to worse he would blow the entire mission just for her sake.

He had lost her once and he didn't plan on losing her again. Not after all this time. Not after he had let her down in the worst of ways. Not again.

* * *

><p>"Say," Naruto began. His group was stationed just outside the west end of the banquet hall waiting for further instructions from the old man. Everyone he was grouped with was mostly silent and provided little to no conversation aside from them hissing for him to keep quiet. The only one who gave him enough socialization to keep him sane was Sai.<p>

"What it is?" the pale teenager replied, his dark eyes blaring into the sand covered cement down below. He was currently standing erect next to the van, ready and willing to act on command should he be asked to.

"How much am I gonna get paid for this job?" It wasn't all that odd of question. Maybe it was the situation in which he asked the question that made just about everyone within earshot turn to look at the boy with confusion in their eyes. And, of course, he was oblivious to it all not too concerned with how people felt about him asking such a question.

"Your payment and the amount will be given to you once the mission is complete." He replied, still focused on the ground. A soft wind brushed by, causing the sand and his eyes to shift around on the ground below. As the wind picked up the sand whirled around until it was slowly picked up and moved about in a circular motion before falling back due to gravity.

"Eh? Come on why can't you just tell me? We're buddies, right?" an arm slung around Sai's slim shoulders and smacked him right out of his daze as he peered at Naruto with wide dark eyes, no longer blank but filled to the brim with hopeful curiosity.

'_Buddies? Buddies. Comrade or chum; a term used frequently among friends. Friends.'_ The blonde stared at the strangely silent guy before him with slightly concerned azure eyes, jerking him with a quick shoulder shake. Sai, once again, awoke from his quiet thoughts gave Naruto a smile. And it wasn't one of those cardboard cut, copy and paste smiles either. And Naruto was a little taken aback by its sheer genuineness. It was a _real _smile.

He could tell because back when they first met he always smiled and it was creepy. But he could never tell the difference between real and fake until Sakura punched the guy in the jaw for something he said. It was then that she warned him about being swindled by Sai. That just because he smiled didn't mean he was sincere. Of course he knew people could fake emotions but Sai was just so freaking perfect at it that he had to look really closely to be able to tell.

'_Look underneath the underneath, Naruto.'_ She advised him. And to this day he kept that little piece of advice in the forefronts of his mind. And right now, underneath that smile was happiness. And underneath that happiness was someone who hadn't experienced true joy in what seemed like a long time.

"We're buddies…" Sai whispered to himself, staring at the ground once more, the smile still intact. Naruto, watching from seemed like a great distance, was able to smile as well. He give the guy a firm pat on the back before moving to stare up at the darkening sky above.

"Yeah," They were buddies. And even if Sai was keeping something from him, he had a hunch that he was, he was willing to give him at least a few seconds of happiness. Everyone deserved to happy at some point in their life. Everyone.

* * *

><p>"Ah! You blinked!"<p>

"Liar, I did not!"

Sakura and Shisui had been sitting in the back room for what seemed like hours. Neither one of them had an ounce of patience. In order to ease the slow passage of time they resorted to playing what one would call childish games. Not only was it a way to pass the time, but it was also a way to ease some of the tension that was coming off them in waves, Sakura more so than her partner.

Their current activity was a staring contest.

"I guess I can give you the benefit of the doubt since your eyelashes look like they weigh a ton." Shisui shrugged with a smirk on his face at having thought he had won their little match.

"That would be a nice gesture if I actually blinked!" She retaliated.

"Let's just agree to disa-" his sentence was suddenly cut off as a hand rose to his ear and he abruptly stood up from his seat, nearly toppling it over in the process. Sakura watched with baited breath as she too slowly stood up, her heart beat picking up speed with each passing second. It was then that her brain and all the rest of her senses reached a very much late epiphany. That yes, this was actually happening and everyone was counting on her and if she messed up it could cause a national, if not, international crisis and—

"Hey," snapped out of her pessimistic thoughts of absolute disaster, she turned to Shisui who had read her dreadful expression like a book and was smiling at her. His hand clamped down on her bare shoulder, sending chills down her spine.

"Relax." And she couldn't tell what had changed. Whether it was the whole atmosphere, his demeanor, or her slowing heart but she felt a wave of calm wash over her. And things didn't seem so bad. She smiled back and brought her hand up to meet his as a silent way of thanking him for kind of sort of bringing her back down the earth. A stiff nod was all he was able to get in before the door opened slowly and gave them a view of Midori who looked a little worse for the wear but still intact.

No words were exchanged between to two looks alikes. Only glances. One of confidence and the other of assurance. Words were not needed for Sakura felt that anything Midori had to say, she had already said it. There was nothing more Sakura needed to hear from her charge to know that she had put all her faith in her abilities. Words couldn't express that.

Instead, she walked out of the room and linked arms with the waiting Itachi as if nothing had changed. As if she, herself, were the Governor's daughter. As if things were ok. That's what she had to keep telling herself. That things were ok and if they weren't ok, that's why she was here. To make things ok.

'_Surely everything will be ok.'_ Was the silent mantra she said to herself as they ambled down the long hallway. She breathed in through her nose and exhaled slowly from the small opening of her parted lips. Finally content with her surroundings, Sakura found herself facing yet another giant. And this giant just so happened to be linking arms with her at the moment.

Part of her had completely forgotten about Itachi in favor of focusing on the mission. It seemed like a good idea. She couldn't be thinking about her silly crush when lives were at stake. That would be absurd. Utterly, absolutely absurd on so many levels that that…! She didn't even want to think about it!

But as she stole silent glances at the Uchiha decked out in what had to be a seriously expensive tuxedo she couldn't help but think about him. He was like a rock. So steady and firm, a little stubborn but always stationary. She could always count on him because he was always there for her. Whenever she needed him. But in the midst of his charity she realized that she wasn't the only one who needed him.

Itachi had so many other people who depended on him that it would surely drive any average man insane. He had so many tasks to complete, so many people to please that Sakura made certain that whatever it was she needed, she wouldn't bother him. For her meager existence paled in comparison to everything else he had on his plate.

So it came as a huge surprise when he embraced her and demanded she forfeit all her worries, fears, concerns, and doubts to him. It was a surprise and it was also one of the most touching things anyone had ever said, ever done for her. It was so moving she was reduced to tears, which was not an easy feat. And it was because of said feat that she allowed these feelings to fester inside of her heart, for leaving them dormant would be far too painful.

Regardless of what happened in the next few hours, she would be ok with him knowing how she felt. He knew everything else.

As they entered the hall, Sakura was met with the sight of the elite socialites from the Five Great Nations. The party was in full swing with people dancing, chatting it up, getting a little buzzed, and overall having a great time. She recognized a few people from the news and TV and was little surprised to see how they acted in public.

"We've already gone through the introductions," Itachi called, pulling her out of her own thoughts about a particular Kage who looked a little more than buzzed at the bar.

"So we just wait then." She stated, letting her arm fall from his grasp. He turned to her with a small smile. And her heart skipped a beat at the sight, giving way to wave of heat that washed over her face. She resisted the urge to pat her red cheeks, instead giving the man before her some attention.

"Mingle. You learned other things besides fighting. Now's the time to use them." He said. Itachi placed his hands on her shoulders and gently guided her around masses of people. Like before, some of them she recognized and others she didn't. But she was Midori so they all knew her; at least they thought they did. If she was honest, it was kind of fun walking around acting all important.

Eventually she got used to the flow of the party and had somehow lost Itachi in midst of a conversation with a fellow from the Lightning Country. One thing led to another and Sakura found herself on the dance floor, exchanging steps with a stranger while they held onto each awkwardly. It was kind of weird to dance with someone else after being taught by the same person for nearly a month. But she found the experience to be sort of fulfilling.

Especially since she hadn't stepped on his toe not once.

It was only when she had excused herself for a drink that she finally spotted Sasuke sulking at the one of the tables, hand clasped around a drink and head resting miserably in his palm. It was no secret that he really didn't want to be here and he was making it painfully obvious by the glare of death he shot at any girl who remotely looked as if they were going to approach him. It was kind of funny to see him act so scary.

Just as she was about to walk over to him, she stopped. In this situation what would Midori do? Would she talk to Sasuke? She and Itachi had a close relationship. Would that carry over onto the younger brother as well? She never really considered what Sasuke was to Midori. Her time to ponder what cut short, however, as the aforementioned younger sibling was walking toward her with steady strides.

"Hey," he called, fixating his eyes on something to the left of her face.

"Hello there." She replied in her fake Midori voice. And Sasuke smirked because he knew what she was doing and it was downright amusing seeing usual brash and rude Sakura actually being polite. But his smirked quickly morphed back into a frown as he took in her appearance. Even if she was just acting, underneath that voice was the Sakura that he had come to know over the past couple weeks.

And even if she was annoying at times, she was probably the closest thing he had to a female friend. And seeing her all dressed up did weird things to him. Things he didn't want to think about because, one it was Sakura and that just wasn't ok. Two, she had a crush on his brother and that definitely wasn't ok. But those reasons didn't stop him thinking that she looked pretty.

"Do you want to dance?" he asked in a quiet voice. Sakura quirked a brow, further annoying him.

"Somehow you don't strike me as the dancing type." she ignored his death glare in favor of taking his hand and leading them out onto the floor to an open spot where they fell into step with the rest of the couples in the middle of a slow dance.

"You look nice." He commented lightly.

"You don't look too bad yourself." She replied. He grunted with a smirk as they continued dancing. And just like when she first met him, Sakura couldn't help but compare his dancing to Itachi's. His movements held direction and straightforwardness. They were strong and lacked hesitation but grace as well. She found it a tad difficult to keep up with him but eventually got her stride going.

"Sasuke," she called in a small still voice.

"Hn?"

"You're a real jerk, you know?"

"Wha-"

"But I like you." And whatever he was going to say in retaliation to her display of blatant disrespect to his character quickly vanished at the sight of her smile. Because Sakura was kind of like him. He mostly smirked and his smiles were rare. There had to be a pretty damn good reason for him to smile.

"You're so annoying." He replied, leaning forward a bit, lips twitching at her downturned mouth. He hated to admit it, but Sasuke enjoyed moments like these. Where he could let his guard down with no fear. Maybe this was the reason why he could tolerate a girl like Sakura. He felt he could be himself around her and she wouldn't judge him for it.

"But I like you too." And she would probably hate him for this later. She was supposed to be Midori not Sakura. But he didn't care. Not really anyway. The only thing that was on his mind was her and the fact that he may not get to see her again after tonight. Leaning forward a bit more and ignoring the panic stricken looked in her eyes, he planted his lips on her forehead.

"Thank you, Sakura." he figured, if he never saw her again, just being with her right now was a good enough reason to smile.

* * *

><p><strong>AN:** End of chapter 24! Gosh I can't believe we've made it this far! It's been a month since my last update, sorry! Moving on!

At the beginning of the chapter I introduced the Fire country's governor/daimyo. He doesn't have a name in the anime so I named him Kahen which translates into something like fickle since he's just a big indecisive worm. Got that cleared up! Kakashi was in this chapter as well as Sai and Naruto and our favorite Sasuke! Just letting you know this is probably the last of the SasuSaku that you'll see in this story. Everything else is strictly ItaSaku and boy do I have something great planned for you guys!

Thanks goes to: **Good boy-chan, ****Masamune Uchiha, Lil-BabYAnG3L, Lady Lauren, Katara-Hatake, The Girl Across The Street****, ****Voxytoo, animeXtenshiXhime829, scubertluver55, ZebraPrintsss, glove, Narutofan3721, ang3l-of-love, KeinaR, Akiko-pink, Aurora Rose Dragomir, Meati, Captian-Winter, xXxInsanelyHopelessxXx, sasusaku3623649, **and** ariedoll.**

No manga talk this time other than Itachi is awesome and I'm sad he's really gone this time. Thank you so much for all of your support! I love you all!

IMPORTANT MESSAGE! The poll on my page closes tomorrow, July 11, and I'll be publishing the story with the most votes on July 12. It's my five year anniversary of being on the site and I want to do something special. So please vote if you haven't already!

See you in chapter 25!

Krystal


	25. Chapter 25

A hand rose timidly to her tingling forehead. The world around her was still in motion despite her obviously dazed state of mind. What in the world just happened? Had Sasuke really done what she thought he had? Like really_really_, did that _really_ just happen? _Really?_

"I totally imagined that. Totally." She just had to convince herself. But why would she imagine something like that, and with Sasuke of all people? Surely if her mind was to conjure up such a picture, Itachi would be the one to perform that act. Not Sasuke. No, never Sasuke.

"Totally." It was then that she finally gained enough of a grasp on the situation to realize that she was idly standing in the middle of the dance floor among couples who were either giving her the oddest stares, or were too engrossed in one another's presence to be bothered with her weird mannerisms.

Traitorous red spread across her cheeks, her legs making a move to leave the floor before she was unexpectedly swooped into a pair of arms and spun gracefully in a circle. She ended up in position for yet another dance, arms raised and in the grasp of a stranger, a man whom she had never seen before. He was tall, much taller than her, and thin with a very mature build. Not to mention he danced like a pro.

Quickly taking the lead, he smoothly guided the two of them through the song change and into a gentle waltz. His steps were nearly soundless and the way he glided across the floor made Sakura feel as if she were floating. And through all this, not once did he take his eyes off her. It was a little unnerving, if she was completely honest.

"What a pleasure it is to be able to dance with you, Ohayashi-sama." His words came out as clear as a bell.

"Why thank you, uhm…" Sakura trailed off, suddenly aware that she still had no idea who this man was.

"Please excuse my rudeness. My name is Gen." He smiled down on her. Sakura's heart nearly dropped into her stomach at the sight. Not because it was an awful smile, no it was quite the opposite. But it was just so strange that it caused her to feel immense, unprecedented discomfort. It was smile that would usually light up one's face, displaying true joy. But this, this was different.

Shifting her gaze away from his lips, she focused instead on his eyes. They were green, much like her own. Only there were a pale green. Sakura best described them as a green seen mostly in murky waters. And that's what his eyes resembled, she realized. They were cloudy, mysterious, and dark. She couldn't see into him like she could other people. He was very guarded. And the way those eyes stared into hers sent uncomfortable shivers down the length of her spine.

"It is a pleasure, Gen-san." She replied, tone laced with the kind of falsehood she had to master in order to portray the role of an aristocrat.

"The pleasure is all mine, hime-sama." Halting their dance as the song came to a close, he knelt down with her hand in his grasp. His gaze never once left hers as he placed his lips to her knuckles, giving them a feathery kiss before rising to his feet.

He was charming, mature, mysterious, and handsome. And it was there specific traits that led Sakura to believe that this man was dangerous. She wasn't sure who he was, exactly, or where he had come from. But he was surely no one to play games with. There was something about him, aside from the obvious reasons that attracted her to him. She couldn't take her eyes away from him. It was like she was mesmerized, caught in the headlights that was his being and couldn't, for the life of her, understand why.

And she was thoroughly captivated at the sound of him referring to her as a princess.

It was different from Shisui gushing over her transformation. Maybe it was because she knew Shisui and his daily antics automatically caused her to brush off any and all compliments he threw her way. But with this man it nearly caused her heart to stop beating.

_'Just who are you?'_

She was given no more time to ponder those thoughts as a hand landed on the small of her back, another reaching to expertly take hold of the one Gen had kissed. All at once, Sakura found herself in the protective grasp of one Uchiha Itachi, whose eyes were solely focused on the man standing less than two feet away.

"If I may cut in," Itachi called, his hand slowly sliding up her back. The man, Gen, bowed and gracefully relented while giving Sakura one last smile.

"Of course. Thank you for the wonderful dance, Ohayashi-sama."

Sakura nodded in a Midori-esque fashion before turning her attention to who would be her fourth, and most anticipated, dance partner of the night. The girly side of her had been waiting with imaginary baited breath for the chance to be held in the arms of Itachi. The more rational side of her was dreading it, as awful as that sounded.

Despite having resolved to the 'Carpe Diem' mindset for her confession, Sakura was still at odds with herself as to how she would go about it. The words she would say, how she would say them, how fast they'd spill out of her mouth. Would it be heartfelt and touching? Chopping and like word vomit? Short and sweet? Long and loving? Would she even get the chance to say anything at all?

"You're very tense." Itachi commented offhandedly. He was right. Whether it was due to her recent dance partner or her recent musings, she couldn't tell. So she went with the former.

"That guy gives me the creeps." She inwardly shuddered, drawing a little closer to him. The great thing about dancing with Itachi was there was no secret that Midori was infatuated with him. So standing close to him, in his embrace, was a given that she welcomed with open arms. She just felt so comfortable with him, especially in this moment.

"Aa. We're keeping a close eye on him and any other suspicious figures." She nodded, hoping that was the last they would speak of the man. She got her wish when a gentle smiled curved his lips as he continued to lead their dance, staying in the middle of the area and seemingly away from all the other couples.

* * *

><p>To say that Shisui was irritated would be the understatement of the century. He passed irritated just minutes ago in favor of fully aggravated and was veering towards something even more severe. They hadn't even been in the room for a mere five minutes before the pampered princess starting spouting insults at him like he was the worst person ever.<p>

And she hadn't stopped.

"Do you ever shut up?" He asked, exasperation written all over his handsome features as he fought the smirk that dared to appear at her completely insulted expression.

"How rude!" She sneered right back, causing him to scoff, blowing up a stray piece of hair in the process.

"Tch, like you aren't! I don't know what I did to you—"

"Of course not! Neanderthals know not what they do." She huffed, crossing the room to farthest space away from him.

"Neanderthal? Now wait just a—!"

"No! You may be in charge of protecting me, but you are in no position to be giving me orders!" The words practically flew out of her mouth and slapped him on the face. He sighed, running a hand over his face before gazing at her through his splayed fingers. He plopped down in his seat, gesturing her to sit in the one across from him.

"What did I do to you?" He asked, voice suddenly quiet.

"It makes since that you would not remember. You only made every attempt at ruining my love life!"

"Ruining your love lif—oh, I know what this is about. Still pinning after the captain are we?" He teased.

"Call it what you will but that doesn't change the fact that every time Itachi-kun and I would have a moment together, you seemed to have no problem showing up and making things absolutely horrid!" Shisui sighed. His eyes roamed her figure before a small smile found its way to his face. In the stubborn sense, Midori and Sakura were exactly alike. But he liked to think that this woman was a little more childish than her younger counterpart.

"Don't try to apologize to me now. Given the circumstances, I would've preferred to have anyone guard me than you!" She huffed.

"Especially him?" He chanced that question.

"Especially him."

"Look, I'm not Itachi." he ignored her little retort in favor of continuing. "But who would want to be? The guy's as boring as they come! He's so stiff and just doesn't know how to have a good time. Sure, he might be easy on the eyes but that's an Uchiha trademark, nothing special!"

In the middle of his tirade, Midori's arms dropped from their folds, instead fingering one of her many curls as he continued speaking against the love of her life. She found his words similar to Sakura's at their sleepover. The more she listened, the more convinced she was that Itachi was not the man she believed him to be.

"And besides, I thought women wanted someone with a little spark in them. Someone who'd respond to ten years of advances with more than just formal smiles and touches."

"So even you knew…I am a real fool then."

"Maybe so."

"How—!"

"If loving someone who can't see the real you makes you a fool," he paused, looking her right in the eyes and smiling like his entire life depended on it.

"Then I'm the biggest one of all."

* * *

><p>"How much longer?" Came the frustrated cry of one Uzumaki Naruto. They had been waiting outside of the hotel for what seemed like hours and he was going a little stir crazy. What with the sudden drop in temperature and lack of conversation going on. It was all he could to keep his sanity and from running around in circles to generate some heat.<p>

"Just sit, Naruto-kun." Sai called happily. He was still on a glad spell from Naruto calling them 'buddies' even if it wasn't meant to bring him joy. The blond complied and sat crisscrossed in front of the van with his head propped up by his hands.

"I have a feeling we are going to be called soon."

"Intuition?" Naruto asked, suddenly distracted from the wait.

"No. Danzo-sama said it would be around nine o'clock at night." He replied.

"What? He gave you a time? Then why've we been sitting here all day? We could've explored the city or something!" he shouted.

"Quiet down, please. And Danzo-sama's instructions were to stay close to the vicinities." Just as he had finished that sentence a particular radio frequency sounded through his earpiece while his eyes darted to a specific window on the 6th floor of the hotel where a light was repeatedly flashing.

"That's the signal. Time to move out."

"Finally! I thought I'd never see any action!" Naruto cheered, jumping to his feet.

"Stay close and you'll get your action."

* * *

><p>The dance was a lot like a fight, and while Sakura wasn't much of a dancer, she knew a lot about fighting. Fighting, in a lot of ways, involved give and take. An equal balance of punches thrown and received. That's how she considered fighting to be enticing, exciting, breathtaking, and risky. And she'd been fighting practically her entire life.<p>

But for once, this was a battle she didn't mind conceding defeat in. Because Itachi had achieved the impossible just by believing in her.

"Thank you," she whispered.

"Hn?" he hummed, giving her his full attention. And she lifted her soft gaze, green staring into endless pools of charcoal, and smiled. The expression was foreign but always welcomed on her face.

"For everything, really." At that moment, something told her to lean into him. Her head rested against his chest, the shell of her ear right above his heart. She sighed contently, finding herself finally relaxing, if only a little bit. An indescribable feeling formed at the soles of her feet, travelled up through her stomach, and practically burst from the top of her head.

Is this what is felt like to be held in the arms of someone precious to you? To be in a room full of people and only have eyes for one person? To feel like you're the only two on the entire plant?

_'Is this…is this what love feels like?'_ Her soft smile grew at the feeling of his hand trailing up her back, fingers tickling her spine. _'I never want this feeling to end.'_

"Itachi," she began. She felt him hum in response to her call and that's when she realized something. This was it. No more dress rehearsals, no more practice, this was the real deal.

"Remember when you told me to give you every burden? Everything I was scared and worried about?" she closed her eyes, letting the music take control over her words as his calming menstruations soothed her into a relaxed state.

"Yes," he answered.

"I—there's one other thing I need to give you," she whispered. "I can't tell you how long I've had this. Only that it's been so hard keeping it secret for as long as I have."

"Sakura," he piped in, voice laced with concern that she was more than grateful for.

"I trust you, Itachi. More than I've ever trusted anyone. And I know that this is the wrong time to say something like this, part of me feels like I'll regret it, but if I hold it in any longer I—I…" Her train of thought was disappearing with the song as their slow dance came to a standstill. And it seemed like they really were the only two people standing there.

"Whatever it is, Sakura, It'll be fine. Just tell me." His voice was so warm and reassuring that she smiled despite her anxiety. Sakura pulled back slightly from his embrace and stared at him. Her eyes brimmed with unshed tears but she didn't care. She didn't care whether or not she cried because this was important to her and she could tell by the raw compassion laced in his gaze that it was just as important to him as well.

"I love you, Uchiha Itachi. I've never felt this way before, and at first I was so scared. I was scared of these feelings and how they kept growing and growing no matter how hard I tried to suppress them. They kept getting stronger. And the more I was around you, the stronger they became."

He was silent causing dread to fill every part of her but it didn't stop her from going on.

"I know there are a lot of things that can get in the way of what I'm feeling. That's why I'm okay staying just like this. This moment with you is already enough for me. So even if it's just for tonight, I'm begging you, please accept these feelings of mine."

Time seemed to stand still and Sakura thought she'd have plenty of itto gauge his reaction to her words. But those thoughts came to an end for in the next few seconds the music ended abruptly, a series of gasps erupted from both the orchestra and the other patrons of the party and the sounds of hurried footsteps travelled to her ears.

She tensed, knowing that it all came down to this, the moment of truth. She looked up to see Itachi's gaze focused on the many entrances to Banquet hall while his hands wrapped themselves tightly around her person.

_'Figures things would turn out this way.'_ She thought with a bitter smile. _'I basically pour out my heart to him and then this happens.'_

Not waiting for his reply, Sakura resigned herself to her fate. She slipped out of his protective grasp and backed away, leaving ample space between to the two of them. And for a moment Sakura could've sworn she saw a desperate look pass through his eyes. Like he was torn between letting her go or pulling her back into his arms.

"That was selfish of me, I understand. This is bigger than the two of us. But Itachi, just promise me one thing," he nodded, eyes never leaving hers.

"That when this is over, you'll give me an honest answer?" Her expression was hopeful, even amidst the upcoming chaos that was sure to rouse the whole of Suna. But he smiled and once again robbed her of all foul emotions.

"I will."

And the real battle began.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: **Phew! This one was a doozy! I apologize for how long this chapter took to get off my stinking computer. It's been one heck of an August, let me tell you! What with getting ready for school and travelling and the other stories I've been working on, not to mention boring you with the details of my life…sorry!

Moving right along! Gen enters the scene and makes Sakura nervous! Who is this mysterious figure? And then Shisui and Midori make a connection! I hope you guys caught onto the message I was sending there. Next, Sai and Naruto are finally called into action! What role do they play in the kidnapping? And finally Sakura confessed her love to Itachi only to be kidnapped just moments later! How badly does that suck, right?

A special thanks goes out to: **phoenixfire211, Bishie Huntress, wierdpony115, I Want My Toque, SincerelyAnn, , I Wish I Was A Dinosaur, Mina Potter4, Lil-BabYAnG3L, HopelessRomantic235, TheBigBadBitch, Crimson Tainted Wings, MoMo Uchiha, sasusaku3623649, Nonumaru, moonlightkissed, raclathefreak, , Lady Lauren, UchihaYuuki-Sama, SummerLovex33, Biohazard-Barbie, pure epicness1, LuckySock, PoppyxHatake, and all my anonymous reviewers! **

As far as news goes, I don't have much other than you go read _By My Side_! It's the winning story out of ten other ones! I'm surprised there are so little reviews for it. I promise I worked hard and that it's not terrible. At least read it. Okay, my shameless begging is now over. See you in chapter 26!

Krystal

P.S.: You're done with this chapter! Go read By My Side! Now!


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